The New Age Chronicles 07 Journeys
by MTP
Summary: Has Bunnies journey finally come to an end? With the fight against the Alliance still going on, Bunnie finds herself surrounded by some new friends and discovers the answer she has been searching for.
1. One Side

Chapter 1 - One Side

"Daddy! Daddy! Hey dad! Dad wake up! Wake up dad, come on!"

A rough groan filled the air as someone stirred in their sleep.

"Ah Susie go back to bed honey."

"Daaaaaaad! You promised."

"Huh?"

"You promised to take me to the hydroponics dome today."

"Huh? Oh yeah, course sweetie, just give daddy a little time to wake up."

"Ok!"

The small girl jumped down from the bed and raced from the room slamming the door as she went. A further groan filled the air as a figure slowly sat up in the dim light. Reaching a hand up to rub his face he spoke again.

"Lights!"

The room was suddenly filled with a bright light that lit the entire room within a split second. The figure cried out slightly and covered his eyes sharply.

"Lower! Not so bright!"

The light level slowly faded to a dim moonlight and the figure removed his hand from his face. As the light fell onto his face it became apparent who the person was, Earth Alliance Commander Morgan Jake. He squeezed his eyes together and yawned before looking to his side. Beside him lay a woman of slim figure and brown hair. At the time she was looking up at Morgan, resting her head on one of her hands, her blue eyes looking right at him.

"Good morning." she said quietly.

"I don't know if its good or not." replied Morgan with another yawn.

"Well you did promise Susan you'd take the dome today and it's your own fault if you stayed up too late last night."

"Can't you take her?"

"Nope sorry, you know my schedule. Even when you're on leave I'm not, I've got a nine to five job to keep track of as you know very well."

"Can't you call in sick? I'm sure I could arrange for you to get paid if you did."

"Morgan Jake! You might be high in the military but that's no excuse to abuse your authority."

"Couldn't hurt."

"Uh huh."

The women sat up fully, pulling the dressing gown she wore tighter around her.

"Now Morgan don't you go trying to get out of this. You know how little Susan sees you and you know how much she's looking forward to going to the dome." she said.

"I know Kerry, I know. I'm just joking and all, saying that I don't understand what the kid sees in a glass dome full of flowers." replied Morgan.

"Maybe if you spent less time out of your office you'd find out. What are you up to these days anyway? You haven't told me anything about your latest project."

"Ah well its top secret honey, military intelligence kind of thing."

"So you can't tell anyone?"

"That's right."

"Well I doubt it could be very interesting, nothing you've told me about sounds any fun."

"Well sorta."

"Dad! DAD!" cried Susan as she came flying back into the room, "Are you up yet dad?!"

"Woah woah woah Susie! Will you calm down just a little bit, the dome doesn't open for another few hours." replied Morgan.

"Susan why don't you go and start breakfast, you're father and I will be down shortly ok." said Kerry.

"Ok mum!" replied the child before she darted from the room again.

"Ten year olds are such a pain at time." commented Morgan.

"Yes but they're also cute don't you think." asked Kerry.

"It's a good thing they are."

Kerry laughed and slowly got out of bed, heading over to the far end of the room where a large wardrobe was located. Morgan stretched and swung his legs out of the bed, sitting still for a moment before looking at the military uniform folded neatly on a chair beside him.

"You're not going to wear that are you?" asked Kerry looking across the room as she pulled her office clothes from the wardrobe.

"No, not today Kerry, I'm on leave." replied Morgan.

Before long Morgan and Kerry were making their way downstairs towards the kitchen. It'd taken than just under an hour to wash and get ready for the day and already Susan was looking about ready to go.

"You ready dad?!" asked Susan excitedly as she met them at the bottom of the stairs.

"Would you mind if I got something to eat first?" asked Morgan giving her an astonished look.

"Uh! Grown-ups!" moaned Susie as she gave her father an irritated look and walked off.

"Where'd she get that cheek from?" asked Morgan.

"You." replied Kerry as she walked past him.

Morgan rolled his eyes and followed his wife into the kitchen. Breakfast was light, consisting of fruit juice, cereal and a couple of pancakes with syrup. As Morgan and his wife ate the sun started streaming in through the huge sliding glass doors that covered two walls of the kitchen. A view across the San Francisco bay filled the view through the glass doors, the huge form of the Golden Gate Bridge taking up most of the view. Along the coast the port was clearly visible and far out to sea thin white lines could be seen which were in fact giant hover transports some of which were over one mile long. Over a rise to the south several large antenna masts could be seen poking out along with a few shuttle launch pads that belonged to the main military base in the area.

"I've missed Earth Kerry." said Morgan absently as he sipped at a cup of coffee.

"You've missed Earth? What about me?" replied Kerry.

"You too then."

"That's better."

"DAD!" cried a voice.

"I've not missed that." groaned Morgan.

"Go on get out of here, the sooner you get there the sooner she'll be quiet. I better be moving too for that matter." replied Kerry.

"When are you back tonight?"

"Normal time, about six."

"I'll see what I can do for dinner then."

"That'll be sweet but no take outs this time."

Morgan grinned awkwardly and stood up. Susan his daughter was now standing in the kitchen doorway literally bouncing in anticipation. It amazed Morgan that a person could be that energetic on a morning.

"Ok Susie I'm ready." he said slowly.

"Yay! Let's go!" replied Susan as she spun and raced from the room.

"Here we go."

Morgan gave a sigh and followed his daughter from the kitchen. The trip to the dome didn't take that long. Even with the morning traffic Morgan found it easy to find a quiet spot and the good weather added to the enjoyment. He had the roof of the car down and the speed they were going created a gentle breeze that took away the sting of the hot temperature. Susan was quiet for most of the trip except when they were getting close when she started making small excited noises.

The Dome in question was the Hydroponics Dome and was in essence a giant green house. As Earth had expanded out into space they had come across several unique varieties of plant life and through cross breeding with native Earth plants they had been able to create new plant life themselves. One such developed plant was found to have been a 100 curse for cancer, other plants had turned out to be high in vitamins and edible to boot. Morgan had never tried any of these new plants, he didn't quite trust bioengineering, but other he knew had and raved about the benefits. The dome was one such place where these new plants were bred and displayed to the public.

Soon the dome came into sight, emerging over the top of a small hill and Morgan had soon parked the car and was following Susan towards the entrance. As they had arrived early in the morning the queue to gain access wasn't too long but it still took about quarter of an hour before they were inside. Once inside Susan just stood and stared at everything around her. Morgan couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's reaction to the dome, it was priceless.

"Susan!" came a sudden call.

Both Susan and Morgan turned to look towards the voice to find another young girl running towards then with an older woman running after her. Susan clapped her hands and shrieked slightly as she saw the other girl.

"Jackie!" she cried happily.

"Hey Susan! I didn't know you were coming here today." replied Jackie stopping near Susan.

"You didn't? I thought I told everyone."

"I was sick last week remember."

"Oh yeah!"

As the two girls fell into chatter the women who had been running after Jackie came to a stop nearby and propped herself up on small wall for a moment before walking over to Morgan.

"Hi! You must be Susan's dad." she said.

"Yeah, Morgan Jake, and you would be?" replied Morgan.

"I'm Rebecca Harland, Jackie's mum." replied the women, "Kerry's told me a fair bit about you."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Nothing bad if that's what you mean, she said you were in the military."

"Yeah that's right, I'm on leave for a few weeks right now."

"So you're taking your daughter out for a bit of quality time, how sweet."

"Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be sunbathing on the patio right now but I think if I hadn't taken Susan to this place today she would have boiled over."

"Heh! I know what you mean, Jackie has been bouncing with excitement herself for a few days now."

Rebecca sat down on the wall she had been leaning on earlier and looked at Jackie and Susan. The pair were now talking happily and making over exaggerated hand gestures as they did. Presently a faint peeping sound filled the air, causing Morgan to fish through his pocket in search of the source. He finally pulled out his pager and made a face at the message.

"Seems like whenever you get a break someone ruins it, I've been recalled." he said.

"Recalled, well if you like I could look after Susan and drop her off at home later if you like." replied Rebecca.

"You would, that'd be helpful, thanks."

"No problem, I'm sure neither of those two would mind."

"Yes you're right. Susan!"

"Yes dad?"

"Susan I've got a bit of bad news dear, my leave has been cut short and I have to head back to the base."

"Huh? Dad!"

"I can't do anything about it dear, Rebecca here says you can stay with her and Jackie and she'll drop you off at home tonight once your mother gets home."

"Ah dad! I was really enjoying myself."

"You'll still have fun without me, I'm sure it's nothing major anyway. I bet I'm back in a few days."

"You promise?"

"Sure Susie, I promise."

"Ok dad!"

"Yay! You get to stay at my place!" shrieked Jackie happily.

Susan seemed less enthusiastic about the prospect but didn't seem upset by it either. Morgan said his thanks to Rebecca and then left the dome, heading back to the car outside.

"This had better be worth it." he said to himself quietly.

-----------------------------------------

"Commander Jake? He's ready for you now."

Morgan stood up from his seat and nodded at the clerk that had spoken to him. Upon leaving the dome he had returned home to change into his military uniform and left a note for his wife before driving to the nearby military base. When he had arrived he had found out that he hadn't been recalled due to staff shortages but because the president was visiting the base and requested his presence. It had been then that he knew he wouldn't be able to keep his promise to his daughter, when the president comes calling you can't say no.

Morgan moved towards the door and the clerk opened it, shutting it behind Morgan as he passed through. The room beyond had a very old England type of feel to it. Bookcases lines two walls and the back wall had a large window in it that looked out over the rest of the base from its third floor position. A large desk sat in front of the window behind which sat a short chubby man. He wore a smart suit and had reseeding brown hair and blue eyes. Looking up as Morgan entered he smiled slightly and waved Morgan over.

"Ah Commander Jake, do come in. Find yourself a chair and sit down."

"Oh course Mr President." replied Morgan.

Morgan quickly sat down and waited for the president to start. The president, Jacob Kidderminster, sat still for a moment resting a finger on his lips before quickly leaning forwards.

"Glad you could make it on such short notice commander, I hope it wasn't that much of an inconvenience."

"Oh not at all sir." lied Morgan straightening in his chair.

"Good, in that case I'll get to business. I'm going to need your help with this one Morgan."

"Yes sir, of course."

"I don't know if you keep up with the news when you're on leave but last week I was in a council meeting with the Earth Senate. It seems that there is talk about what our military forces are doing."

Jacob placed his hands on the desk and leaned forwards even more.

"This little war is taking too long! If the senate finds out there will be a public outcry over night and my career will go down in flames. It's been nearly fifteen months since we started this and I was assured that it would have been over after three!"

Morgan was feeling slightly uncomfortable now, he had after all been involved heavily in this campaign and he could be blamed for several failures along the way. The president sat back in his seat and scowled at a plant in the corner of the room before continuing.

"To make matters worst I've just received a report from Mobius this morning suggesting that we have a second resistance group operating in the north."

"Another sir?"

"Yes another! And added to this we have the problem of that renegade Earth faction that the furries have allied themselves with. The attack on the Phantom 2 a few weeks ago was not what I needed. I've managed to explain it off as a renegade attack but the rumour that non-humans were present has already begun spreading. We need to end this now before the Senate starts asking questions."

"Yes sir I know, but how?"

"I've got a plan in motion as we speak but I'll need you're help. I want you to go to Mobius immediately and take charge. I'm placing a certain individual under your command for this mission."

Jacob leaned forwards and handed a folder to Morgan, which the commander opened and looked at quickly. Slowly he rose an eyebrow and looked back at Jacob.

"Interesting choice." he said with a smirk.

"I thought so, the Veil is just what we need for this mission." replied Jacob.

"Just what is this mission sir?"

"I'll upload the details to you once you are on your way and even then I'll only be uploading part of the plan. I've got to get things moving on this end, I want you to worry about the Mobius end, nothing else."

"Yes sir."

"Good, now you have a shuttle standing by to transport you to the Victorious and from there you'll proceed straight to Mobius and start phases one."

Morgan gave a nod and stood up, saluting as he did. Jacob gave a nod in response and returned to what he had been doing earlier allowing Morgan to leave on his own. As he did Morgan began thinking, just what was this mission and would it really sort out the Mobius problem? He was also thinking about the president's tone, he wasn't pleased but there was something else there, a deep hatred maybe. Morgan shook his head and chuckled to himself.

"What am I thinking?" he said to himself, "This is just another mission."

He waved playfully at the female secretary as he passed out of the building and into the sun. It was fast approaching lunch time and Morgan decided to get something to eat before he took the trip to space, packaged space food was never as good as the real stuff. He set of towards the cafeteria with a spring in his step and a whistle on his lips.

-----------------------------------------

It was later that day and fast approaching late evening when Morgan sat down in a chair in his room on the Victorious. He had spent lunch and a little time afterwards on the base, chatting to friends and seeing to a few last minute preparations before he had taken the shuttle ride into space. The Victorious was a large ship, one of the biggest in the Earth fleet, but nowhere near as powerful as some of the other ships. She was a carrier, designed for carrying fighters and other small ships rather than firepower. Saying that she did have a great deal of speed and easily kept up with nearly every ship in the fleet bar the super fast corvette class ships.

Morgan was now looking at a small computer, glancing at a flashing icon in the corner of the screen. The icon represented an incoming transmission and he knew that this was the transmission that the president had told him to expect. Morgan didn't know if he wanted to hear the details of the plan though, he had been thinking more and more about the president's tone and he had a slightly uneasy feeling about it. Finally he reached forwards and tapped the icon. It blinked and expended, turning into a scrolling sheet of words which took a moment to fully display before it stopped. Morgan sat back and started to read.

"As you know the situation on Mobius is getting worst by the day." read Morgan to himself, "This situation must be neutralised as quickly as possible and to do this we have to crush the resistance.

"Recent reports have signified a new threat in addition to the one already established on that strange world. This new threat is located in the north of the planet and is causing a number of problems, however, it does serve us a purpose. They seem less organised and as such are more vulnerable to a large attack. This larger attack is currently being worked on from my side but I need a decoy to draw their attention. To this end your orders are to engage the northern target and attempt to destroy it. If you don't it's of no importance, it will keep them occupied and will hopefully draw in all the major players. Once you have completed this objective stand by for further orders involving phase two, which I will transmit after phase one is completed.

"This mission must not fail, that is all."

Morgan sat forwards and tapped the screen again, causing the message to shrink and vanish from view.

"So that's the mission eh? This could be quite interesting."


	2. The Other Side

Chapter 2 – The Other Side

Bunnie pulled the scarf around her neck tighter as a cool wind blew past her. It was now seven months since she had left Little Planet and gone out on her own and she had never regretted it for a moment. Mobius was still here and the Earth Alliance hadn't over run the place so they must all be coping with the situation without her. Her heart was still shaky even after seven months, the death of Knuckles hitting her so hard it amazed even herself. This time there was no hope of him coming back like before but gradually she was coming to terms with it.

During her travels she had left Never Lake and travelled north. She had never been to the north of Mobius and had decided now was the time to explore this area of the planet. It hadn't taken her long to change into her winter clothes, the temperature dropping dramatically the further she went but even though the temperature was low the landscape was beautiful and, to a degree, distracted Bunnie from the cold. At present she was walking along what appeared to be a road but a layer of snow stopped her from confirming this. On either side of her was a small bank lined with leafless bushes and small trees, which were all equally covered in snow as the road. Aside from that the landscape was quite bleak and mostly consisted of large fields covered in snow. In the far distance Bunnie could make out the form of what appeared to be a woodland of fir trees and looking back she could still see the frozen lake that she had camped beside the night before.

Bunnie looked back at the path ahead of her and stopped. She gave a small stretch and then took a watch from her pocket to check the time. It was fast approaching mid day now and Bunnie was starting to get hungry. She had woken early that morning and must have walked a good seven miles since breakfast so she decided to settle down and take a break for a while. She made her way slowly over to a large rock by the side of the road and brushed the snow off its surface before sitting down. She unslung her pack and set it down in front of herself, taking out a small camp stove and a pan as she did. She scooped a bit of the snow into the pan and set it to boil as she took out a small notepad and a pen and started to write.

"17th 11, 3254

It seems like what I said yesterday about this place being a wasteland of snow is turning out to be true. I've not seen a living thing since I left Kistua over a week ago. Not that I'm complaining, I enjoy my time alone. If anything it allows me to concentrate on why I'm really out here. Even so I wouldn't mind seeing someone now and again, you know, just to break the routine."

Bunnie chuckled to herself as she closed the notepad looking up as she did. It was then that she pulled a slightly puzzled face and looked at the bank at the opposite side of the road. She was sure she's seen something move, a puff of white disappearing behind the snow covered bank. She continued to look for a moment before shrugging and looking away.

"Must have been my imagination." she said slowly.

Just then a light click ran through the air, a click Bunnie knew all too well.

"Or maybe not…"

"Alright, stand up and turn around slowly." commanded a voice.

Bunnie gulped lightly and then slowly stood up and then waited a moment before turning to face the owner of the voice. The first thing she saw was the muzzle end of a large rifle that had been the source of the earlier clicking sound. She tracked its length, noticing that the weapon, although small, was very high tech and appeared to be custom made. At the end of the gun was something she didn't expect, not a human from the Earth Alliance like she had been expecting, but a blue coloured fox.

He stood at about five foot, slightly shorter than Bunnie, and had blue fur with white covering his chest, muzzle and the tip of his tail. His bangs looked more like a mass of fur formed into three points that stuck down and nearly covered his eyes and were also of a blue colour but had a black underside to each point. A red headband was wrapped around his head, the ends of which were so long that they trailed nearly to the floor behind him. He wore a pair of brown armbands on his upper arms and a small silver necklace around his neck. Black shoes with a white stripe sat on his feet and black fingerless gloves covered his hands. What really caught Bunnie's attention though was his tail, red bands of cloth had been tied around two sections of it with trailing ends nearly as long as his headband. The end result split his tail into three sections and stopped his tail puffing out like most other foxes. The end of his tail was split into six small flicks which all had a black tip to them.

His gaze levelled on Bunnie as she turned around, the fox aiming the weapon directly at her face as she did. Bunnie couldn't really see his face well for his bangs but she could make out his blue eyes and they didn't look friendly at that moment.

"Hold your hand up." he instructed giving a quick glance at Bunnie's right hand.

Bunnie looked at him for a moment and then slowly raised her hand. As she did the fox took his left hand off his gun and reached forwards, making a quick jerk and yanking a couple of hairs from Bunnie's outstretched hand. Bunnie gave a quick yelp and pulled her hand back, looking at the fox with a mix of confusion and anger.

"Well you feel pain, that's one thing in your favour but I still have to check. Now stay put you hear."

The fox gave a quick glance to his right arm and it was then that Bunnie noticed a small device, which appeared to be a computer, strapped to his right wrist. The fox quickly placed the hairs in a small orifice in the side of the computer and tapped a couple of buttons, flicking his vision from Bunnie and back the computer over and over as he waited for the results of what he was doing. Finally the computer gave a bleep and the fox rose an eyebrow.

"Hmm, clear." he said almost to himself as he slowly lowered the tip of his weapon from Bunnie's face, "Forgive me but I had to be sure you really were what you looked like."

"And what would that be?" snapped Bunnie not feeling too happy about having a gun aimed at her.

"A furry like us, with all the past history on Mobius and these sneaky Earth guys you can never be too careful."

Bunnie stood and looked at the fox with a slight glare as she rubbed her right hand slowly.

"Who are you?" she asked quickly.

"You can call me M." replied the fox.

"M? That it?"

"Well MTP is the full version but most people call me M, it's quicker. And who are you?"

"A furry like you!"

"I can tell you don't like me much, granted I suppose, I did just have a gun aimed at your face. Maybe you'll like talking to a more neutral party."

M looked over at the opposite bank of the road and whistled sharply before giving a call.

"Yo Tif! You can come on out, it's safe!"

Bunnie turned slightly to see a new face appearing over the bank. She was a black coloured fox with a white chest and muzzle. Short crimson red hair fell down to her neck around her face and the tip of her tail was also of a crimson colour. Her ears didn't looks like foxes ears at all, they hung down behind her head reaching just past her shoulders and looked a little like floppy rabbit ears but not as long. The insides of her ears were also a red colour matching her tail and hair. An odd green top covered her chest which was fastened round her neck in a loop and then split into two, passing round her breasts, and meeting again near her stomach. She also wore a long pair of dark violet trousers with a lighter violet pattern on it, white shoes, dark blue elbow length gloves that clung to her fur and a large belt made up of several pouches which hung at an angle around her middle. A large golden amulet hung around her neck and a small delicate chain with a small hanging silver stone was visible wrapped around her head under her hair. Finally a small pair of glasses rested on her muzzle just below her chestnut brown eyes.

The fox lightly made her way down the small bank and walked happily over to the pair, stopping just a little way off and giving a smile.

"Hello there, you'll have to excuse M, he can get a little too intense at times." she spoke softly.

"Who are you?" asked Bunnie.

"This is Tif." replied M, "She's…"

"Ahem! M, I can introduce myself you know and stop calling my Tif, you know I don't like abbreviations."

"You call me be an abbreviation all the time." complained M rising an eyebrow at the other fox.

"That's beside the point, anyway I'm Tifa, Tifa Julie-Star Mysteria if you want my full name. As M was about to say, I'm his partner."

"Darn right sweetie." smiled M.

"Watch it M or you'll regret it later."

Bunnie watched as the two went about their playful argument as if she wasn't even there. Her earlier anger and irritism started to fade slightly and she got curious.

"Partner?" she asked doubtfully.

"Well we prefer to use partner, we are more boyfriend girlfriend though." replied Tifa turning to look at Bunnie again.

M just gave a nod and set about holstering his rifle onto his back. There was a moment of silence during which time the sound of boiling water could be heard and Bunnie quickly looked down to find the pan of ice she had set to boil was now steaming. She quickly bent over and picked it up, placing the pan next to her pack on the rock beside her, and took out an instant soup packet from her pack. Tifa and M both noticed this and watched her for a moment.

"You travelling alone?" asked M.

"Yes." replied Bunnie now in the process of making her soup, "I've been travelling for about seven months now."

"Woah! You got a lot of time on your hands." joked M with a chuckle.

"Oh M will you be quiet." responded Tifa giving a shake of her hand, "Forgive him, he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."

"I noticed." replied Bunnie.

"You got a place to stay tonight?"

"I just set up camp wherever it looks good, I've picked out a spot on the map that I'm heading for by dusk."

"I see."

Tifa gave a wave of her hand in M's direction and walked off a few paces with the blue fox. The pair quickly fell into whispers but Bunnie, being a rabbit, managed to catch every word of their conversation.

"You think we should take her back to Harmony?" asked Tifa.

"Think that's wise Tif? We don't really know who she is, you never know who people are in this day and age." replied M.

"You're the most suspicious character I know M, there's nothing suspicious about her at all. And besides I think it's the least we can do after you unnecessarily pointed that gun in her face."

"Hey that was precaution only."

"Tell that to her."

"Fine! But this was your idea ok."

"Ok ok, whatever you say."

The pair looked back towards Bunnie who was now looking at them with interest.

"We'd like to invite you to stay with us this evening." said Tifa with a smile, "It's the least we can do to make it up to you."

Bunnie folded her arms and leant back against the rock for a moment. Although they had threatened her they had apologised and seemed nice enough. Bunnie finally gave a nod.

"Well alright, I guess it beats sleeping outside in this cold for a change." replied Bunnie.

"Cold? You're making me feel warm just looking at all those layers! Where'd you live? The equator or someth…." started M before he quickly found one of Tifa's hands covering his mouth and the other on the back of his head.

"M, shut up." said Tifa flatly into his ear.

M mumbled an affirmative sound and Tifa released him. M turned and stuck his tongue out at Tifa for a moment.

"Spoil sport! Well shall we go?" said M.

"In a moment, there's still one person to join us." replied Tifa.

"You didn't Tifa!"

"You bet I did, Josh! Hey Josh you can come out now." called Tifa.

Bunnie watched as a pair of white ears popped out from behind the opposite bank followed by the head and body of a young feline. Bunnie couldn't help but smile as the cat, who appeared to be a snow leopard from his colour, approached. He was completely white with small black circles dotted all over his body, face and tail. At the tip of each of his ears a tuft of black fur and a large tuft of black fur stuck out over his chest partially covering the pure white fur on his chest. Four large palm leaf like strands of black hair stuck out of his head and fell across his face under which on his forehead sat a pair of red coloured goggles. His whiskers were fairly short, barely reaching past the sides of his muzzle, and his eyes were a brilliant magenta colour. He wore a set of simple clothes consisting of a pair of light grey gloves, grey socks and red and orange striped shoes.

The cat jogged down the opposite bank and then walked over to the group, Bunnie noticing something strange about him already, he never let go of his tail. The cat stopped beside Tifa and flashed a smile at her and M.

"Hi uncle M! Hi aunt Tifa!" he said quickly.

"Hello Josh, how you feeling?" asked Tifa.

"I'm ok, who's this?" asked the cat looking at Bunnie.

"This is…" started Tifa before she suddenly blushed heavily and turned away slightly.

Looking back at Bunnie she rose a finger to her mouth and lightly nibbled on it.

"I've introduced the others and myself but I've failed to ask who you are." she said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

Bunnie looked at her for a moment and then laughed slightly.

"My name is Bunnie." she replied finally deciding to trust them.

"Nice to meet you Bunnie." replied Tifa offering her hand, which Bunnie took and shook.

"Can we move this along people?" grumbled M, "Some people need to eat."

Tifa slowly glared at M and then smiled wickedly. She crossed over to Bunnie's pack and took a hold of it.

"Hold out your arms M." she said.

"What?" replied M.

"Just do it."

Reluctantly M held out his arms and Tifa quickly picked up Bunnie's pack and dumped it in his arms. M nearly collapsed from the weight but managed to catch himself.

"Hey what's the deal?" he said.

"Well I'm sure Bunnie is tired from carrying that pack for all this time and being the gentlemen M it's only right you carry it." replied Tifa, "Besides it'll help build up your appetite."

"Very funny!" complained M.

Bunnie picked up the pan of soup she had just made and looked at it.

"I take it whatever you're serving is more appetising than this." she asked.

"Much more appetising." replied Tifa.

"In that case…."

Bunnie quickly threw the soup out of the pan and into the snow beside the rock before washing the pan out with a bit of spare water. She quickly added the pan and the stove to the side of the pack making M groan at the additional weight.

"You want me to carry you as well?" he complained.

"You can carry Josh if you like." replied Tifa.

"Yeah!" cried Josh quickly looking at M.

"Uh huh huh huh!" groaned M banging his head lightly against the top of the pack in his arms, "Me and my big mouth."

"Yes indeed M, now close it before it gets you in even more trouble." suggested Tifa.

M gave a nod and finally hoisted the pack onto his shoulder. Tifa watched as M strained not to make a sarcastic remark and laughed.

"Come on Josh, I don't think M can carry you this time." said Tifa.

"As well." shrugged Josh with a smile, "Next time maybe."

"Yeah maybe."

"How far is it to your home?" asked Bunnie.

"Not far, a couple of miles to the east from here. We can probably make it just in time for lunch if we hurry."

Bunnie gave a small nod and started to walk along beside Tifa. She shrugged her shoulders several times, enjoying not having to carry her pack for a while. She looked over at M walking near to them and shook her head. The fox was nearly bent double under the weight and was already sweating slightly. Bunnie looked back ahead of her, turning her attention to the scenery around her as she walked. This could prove to be a most enjoyable day.

-----------------------------------------

The journey went swiftly for the most part with the conversation revolving around small things such as likes and dislikes and other small talk. M continuously complained about the pack on his back but Bunnie and Tifa simply ignored him. Josh walked along ahead of the group, the small cat nearly going invisible against the white backdrop on occasions.

Before long the snow on the road started to get less and less and what little there was left was covered in footprints. Tifa smiled slightly and quickened the pace, bringing the group to the brim of a small hill and then stopping. The road led down a small hill and into a shallow basin between several hills. Nestled in the middle of this basin was a small town covered in snow from doorstep to chimney. The central hub of the town led out in several spiral like arms to the edge of the town and made the entire place look like a spiral galaxy in it's shape.

"Welcome to Harmony." smiled Tifa with a chuckle.

"Tifa you pull that joke every time someone new shows up, give it a rest would you." complained M as he walked past.

Tifa simply put her arm out and slapped M across the back, or in this case the back of the pack he was carrying. The result sent M falling to the floor with a crunch and causing M to groan. Bunnie quickly looked at Tifa with a shocked expression on her face but before she could speak Tifa interrupted her.

"Oh he'll be fine." laughed Tifa.

"If you weren't so pretty I'd dump you." complained M as he started to pick himself up.

"Thanks for the compliment M, now lets get moving or we'll miss lunch."

Josh started nodding very quickly, obviously eager not to miss lunch, and then set off in front of the group again. Tifa placed an arm around Bunnie's shoulder and guided the older rabbit down the hill towards the town as M picked himself up and followed. Bunnie couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at the blue fox.

"Why do you treat him like that?" she asked quietly.

"What?" replied Tifa loudly, "Like that? Why does he always have to be sarcastic? If he stops that I'll stop pushing him over, it's a fair enough deal."

"Buh!" came M's reply from behind them.

"See, it's not going to happen." finished Tifa, "But don't you worry about that, we've been like it for years."

At this point the group were entering the outer edges of the town. Bunnie soon forgot her questions and just looked around, the town was like something out of a fairy tale. The houses were small and mostly of one storey only. Many had thatched roofs with small chimneys, out of which flowed a steady stream of white smoke. Some of the larger houses had gardens at the front but all seemed to have gardens to the rear. Elegantly designed street lamps lined both sides of the street, from which hung flower baskets that were overflowing with various coloured plants. The street was clean of snow but small patches still sat here and there towards the side of the road, the sun glinting off the water created by the melted snow.

"Oh ma stars…." coined Bunnie looking around in awe, "It's beautiful."

"Yes Harmony is the nicest place I've ever been." replied Tifa.

"Where do you live?"

"Myself and M live on the South Side near the river but for lunch we're heading to the East Side."

"Why's that? Don't think you have to trouble yourself with buying me a meal."

"Oh we're not going to a restaurant, if you want to know there are none in Harmony."

"No restaurants? My, a rabbit sure could make a good business here."

"Oh! Do you cook?"

"Well I used to own a restaurant a few years ago."

"Really now! My you certainly are a surprising character, you'll have to tell me about that later."

Bunnie gave a small nod and continued to look around as Tifa looked back at M.

"You ok back there M?" she asked.

"Yeah just fine!" replied M looking up.

The fox didn't look so annoyed now and had straightened up slightly. Tifa gave a smile and then turned back to Bunnie, guiding her down another street and on into the town. It didn't take long to cross the town, Harmony wasn't as large as Mobotropolis had been and the journey to the East Side took slightly less than ten minutes. Finally Josh, who was still walking ahead of the group, stopped next to a house and sharply turned into the garden outside it. He bounded up the path and flung himself at the door, which opened easily and appeared not to be locked or even shut. Tifa gave a small nod and guided Bunnie into the garden with M following still.

"Here we are." she said.

Just then Josh's head appeared around the door again just before the door opened fully. Bunnie stopped dead and just stared at the new furry who had just opened the door.

"Hi there Sabrina." chimed Tifa cheerfully, "Hope we're still on time for lunch, and we brought a guest, that ok?"

"Perfectly fine."

In the doorway next to Josh stood a pinkish red coloured echidna with deep green eyes. Her quills hung just below her shoulders and had a few white bands of cloth wrapped around them. Her brown coloured hair was short on the top of her head and formed into thick strands that just reached the top of her eyes and behind her hung a single thin ponytail. She wore a pale yellow dress that hugged her slim figure fairly tightly. The dress had arm length sleeves and on the front four white tassels with yellow ends hung, two just below her breasts and two just below her hips. The dress also had a white trim around the neck that was quite thick and heavy looking as well as a long yellow cape with white trim that touched the ground. On her feet was a simple pair of brown shoes.

Bunnie's face looked like she had just seen a ghost and for a moment she was unaware of anything going on around her. How could this be possible? Hadn't Knuckles been the last of his kind? Tifa noticed Bunnie startled look and gave her a small shake.

"Bunnie? Hey are you alright?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah I'm fine." lied Bunnie as she snapped out of her trance.

Tifa gave her a puzzled look and would have enquired further if M hadn't interrupted.

"Yo girls can we move along now?" he said quickly.

"Oh, yes of course M." replied Tifa shifting her attention back to other things.

Bunnie stood for a moment looking at Sabrina and then let Tifa guide her into the house. Sabrina stood aside to let them past and Josh had already disappeared somewhere. Last in was M, who promptly collapsed to the ground with a crash as he made it over the threshold. Sabrina quickly knelt down next to M and looked up at Tifa.

"Tifa girl by a darling and go check on lunch, you'll see what needs checking when you get in there, I'm going to sort this fluff ball out."

"Hey!" wheezed M, "I'm not a fluff ball."

"Tell that to your tail!" replied Sabrina as she started to undo the pack from M's shoulders.

Tifa nodded at Bunnie and indicated for her to follow which Bunnie did. The hallway of the house was more of a closet it was that small but several doors led off to other rooms. It was through one of these doors that Tifa led Bunnie, the pair appearing in the kitchen. The kitchen was small but still big enough for a number of people to move around easily. An old stove sat in one corner of the room with a worktop covering the rest of that wall. Above the worktop was a large window that looked out over the garden at the rear of the house and to the right of it, on another wall, were lines and lines of shelves filled with various old jars and such like. The opposite wall held a sink and another worktop and the floor was stone tiled with a large worn rug covering it. Tifa headed over to the stove and took the lid off a large pot that sat on the heated top.

"Oh wow!" she said giving the air a good smell.

"Hmm?" enquired Bunnie making her way over.

"Sabrina's making stew and dumplings, couldn't have wished for a better meal right now."

"She's got a cake in the oven too!" chimed a cheery voice from behind them.

Tifa and Bunnie turned to see Josh standing in the doorway licking happily on a large wooden spoon that was covered in raw cake mixture. Tifa put her hands on her hips.

"Josh, you know eating that stuff will spoil your appetite." she said.

"Yeah but its nice." replied the cat, "Sabrina says once you've checked the stew you can go and sit down. She says it'll take a bit more time before its ready."

"Yes Josh, tell her we'll be there in a minute."

Josh nodded quickly and left the room leaving Tifa to check the stew again and then motion to Bunnie to follow her. Returning to the hallway they passed through a different door and into the living room. This room was much larger than the kitchen, covering about half of the ground floor of the house. Near the back wall was a large table surrounded by chairs with a cabinet holding plates and cutlery near to it. The other end of the room held a large bay window and several sofas clustered around a fireplace. Sabrina currently sat on one of these sofas holding a cup of tea, which she was sipping lightly. Josh was sitting on the floor in front of her hugging his tail, Bunnie again noticing that the cat had yet to let go of his tail with any more than one hand. M was nowhere to be seen.

"Sabrina? Where's M gone?" asked Tifa.

"I sent him to get some wood for the fire." replied Sabrina with a smile.

Tifa looked at her and then started to laugh quietly.

"Score one for Sabrina." she said.

Sabrina merely shut her eyes and bowed her head for a moment still smiling.

"Well come on in you two and sit down." invited Sabrina as she raised her head.

Both Tifa and Bunnie complied, sitting down on a sofa opposite Sabrina. Sabrina slowly put her empty cup down on a small table beside her and then looked Bunnie over from top to tail.

"And who is your guest Tifa?" she asked after a moment.

"My name's Bunnie." said Bunnie before Tifa could reply, "I've been travelling for the last seven months."

"Seven months! Goodness, you're braver than I am." replied Sabrina, "Can I ask why?"

"I…have my reasons." said Bunnie looking away out of the window.

"I see, well you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Well I…"

"OK HERE'S YOUR WOOD SABBY!" came a screaming irritated call across the room.

Josh literally jumped a foot in the air and everyone else looked over at the door to see M walking into the room carrying an armful of logs. He crossed the room in silence and dumped the logs in a basket by the fire before turning to everyone and giving a small bow.

"Anything else you require or can I collapse in a pile now?" he asked.

"No that's ok M, you can collapse now." chuckled Sabrina.

M gave a small sigh and crossed to a free chair, flicked his tail to one side and quickly kicked one of his feet out from under him with the other foot. The end result of this was M landing very heavily in the chair and almost breaking it in the process. Everyone looked at him for a moment before Tifa got to her feet and crossed to the fire. She took a bit of paper from a nearby stack and started to make a small fire in the hearth. As she did she cast a glance at M, now slumped in the chair, and rose an eyebrow.

"M you're soaking." she exclaimed.

"You noticed eh?" replied M gruffly.

"What happened?"

"As I was coming out of the wood store the snow on the roof decided to migrate to the floor…past me! I must have looked like a damn snowman for a few minutes."

"Oh you poor thing."

Tifa stopped her fire building for a moment and made her way to M's side where she promptly hugged him. M didn't seem too impressed but he didn't try to stop her either. That is until Tifa started to undo the bands around his tail.

"Hey Tifa what are you doing?" he asked.

"Taking these wet pieces of cloth off, your fur needs to get some air if it's going to dry out you know." replied Tifa.

"Tifa no! Don't you even think about it, not when we have company, you know what happens when my fur gets wet! Tifa!"

It was however too late though as, with a tug, both of M's tail bands fell away in Tifa's hands. There was a moment of silence and then suddenly the fur on M's tail bristled and puffed out expanding his tails size to about four times that of what it was normally. A large sweatdrop started to roll down M's face as he looked around the room with a nervous smile on his face. Bunnie, who had watched the whole thing, couldn't help herself and burst out into fits of laughter closely followed by Sabrina. M looked at Tifa, giving her a 'you'll pay for that later' type of look to which Tifa replied with a 'you know where to find me' type of look. Promptly Josh started to poke M's now puffed out tail and giggle lightly to which M just collapsed back into his seat and gave a groan.

There was a brief pause then in which everyone picked themselves up and made ready to compose the conversation again. That is all except for M who started to whistle lightly as he fell asleep in his chair. Sabrina took the time to turn to Bunnie and give the rabbit a good look from head to toe.

"So how long are you staying?" she asked.

"Hmm?" replied Bunnie, "Oh, well I thought maybe just for lunch, I've got a long way yet to go and I don't want to impose on you too much."

"Nonsense, we hardly get visitors here and I really want to hear about your journey. Besides when a new face turns up on Celestial Day we can't just let her walk out without taking part."

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh my!" chimed Tifa turning round to face them, "I'd completely forgotten about that, guess I should check my calendar more often."

"What? You mean you never told her?" asked Sabrina.

"Told me what? What's Celestial Day?" stated Bunnie her voice full of confusion.

"It's a big yearly celebration we hold." replied Sabrina turning to face Bunnie, "It's a celebration of everything that's happened over the past year, a time of remembrance."

Sabrina sat back in her chair and looked up slightly.

"There's a tradition to make a stranger in the town the guest of honour but for the last few years we've not had anyone new in town. I guess the Alliance and the troubles before that stopped people from travelling. But it seems this year will be different."

Sabrina stopped and looked back at Bunnie, as did Tifa and Josh, and smiled at her. Bunnie rose an ear in surprise.

"Me? The guest of honour? Oh I couldn't!" she said quite taken aback.

"Don't be silly now!" replied Sabrina leaning forwards, "You'd be perfect and besides it'll make the whole town so much happier if you agree."

"Yeah it'll be fun!" smiled Josh looking directly at Bunnie.

Bunnie herself was in two minds, she was still unsure on whether she wanted to stay here long, she did have a long road still ahead of her, but the whole place and the people in it were making her feel more and more at home by the second. She glanced at the young cat for a moment and returned his smile before looking back at Sabrina.

"Well alright, I guess I could stay for tonight." she replied.

"I'm glad." nodded Sabrina blinking slowly, "You'll certainly raise a few spirits. Right now I'm going to go and get lunch going. Wake M up for me would you Tifa."

"Sure Sab, no problem." replied the fox.

Tifa got up from in front of the fireplace and flashed Bunnie a huge smile before walking over to wake M from his slumber. Bunnie leant to one side and rested on her elbow thinking about what exactly she could expect for that evening. Just then the smell of lunch drifted into the room from the kitchen and Bunnie forgot everything but her hunger, she'd ask later or maybe she'd wait and see for herself. Whatever she did right now lunch was more important.

-----------------------------------------

It was later in the evening and growing dark fast when Bunnie and the others left Sabrina's house. Lunch had gone well with hardly anyone talking, everyone had been too hungry to speak and the food had been too appealing. Afterwards Bunnie had decided to take a small nap to recover her strength for the evening. She hadn't really noticed until she had stopped travelling but she was exhausted from all the walking she had been doing. She had slept silently for over six hours until Tifa had woken her so she could get ready for the evening.

Bunnie hadn't brought any fancy clothes with her but while she had been sleeping Sabrina had washed her regular clothes and Bunnie had found them dried and pressed by her bed when she had woken up. Bunnie was wearing her usual blue trousers and purple top along with a pendant Sabrina had given her and a large black belt that belonged to Tifa. In comparison to the others she looked quite shabby.

M had discarded his headband, armbands and computer for now and instead wore a pair of thick white gloves and a small white jacket. His red tail bands had also been replaced with white bands but they still had the same length ends to them. And finally his bangs had been gelled to one side of his face making it possible to see his eyes now.

Tifa had completely redone her whole outfit. She now wore a sleeveless, long, fairly tight jet-black dress that matched her fur so well it almost looked like she wasn't wearing anything. The dress had a low cut front that showed quite a bit of her white chest fur, which she had spent hours cleaning. She still wore her head chain and necklace and had replaced her gloves with large gold bangles.

Whereas M and Tifa had changed their outfit, Sabrina had not. She still wore her yellow dress and cape but had cleaned herself up and now wore a deep purple eye shadow. Sabrina had also taken the time to dress Josh up slightly. The young feline was now wearing a pale yellow shirt and blue trousers and his goggles had been removed. Josh still had a firm grip on his tail with one of his hands and Bunnie was tempted to ask why he kept hold of it but decided not to right then.

The entire town was alive with activity, the central square of the town containing the main buzz. Banner's had been strung up between street lights which glowed with a bright yet not glaring light, rows of tables had been set out which were now filled with food courtesy of Sabrina a few others around the town and a small stage had been constructed on which a band was starting to set up. Various furries of all kinds were moving around, all as smartly dressed as Bunnie's group was and Bunnie herself started to feel a bit out of place. Presently M and Tifa slipped off to one side and disappeared into the crowd leaving Bunnie along with Sabrina and Josh.

"Where are they going?" asked Bunnie.

"They're preparing for the dance later. In the meantime come with me, I'm sure a certain someone will want to meet you." replied Sabrina taking hold of Bunnie's hand and pulling her into the crowd.

Bunnie followed as quickly as she could, somewhat surprised by the echidna's speed, with Josh following just behind the pair. Sabrina led Bunnie into the centre of the crowd, heading straight for the stage and the tables set up in the middle of the Town Square. Bunnie couldn't help but notice that everyone got out of their way as Sabrina headed forward. As Bunnie passed each furry he or she turned and gave a short bow in her direction before turning back to what they had been doing previously. Bunnie found this quite puzzling but didn't have all that much time to wonder what it was all about as Sabrina came to a stop forcing Bunnie to look forwards.

In front of her stood the central stage but in front of that stood a pale blue coloured female cat. She wore a pair of black skin-tight trousers and a dark blue jacket over a peach coloured blouse. Her hair hung to her shoulders and was white in colour, which matched the end of her tail that faded from blue to white at the tip. She wore a number of rings on her fingers and around her neck, fastened to a large red ribbon, hung a large metal key.

"Greetings Bunnie." she said softly giving a small bow, "How are you?"

"A little overwhelmed I must say." replied Bunnie.

"Only to be expected, I think everyone is so much more happy this year as we have a guest."

"Why is it so important? You're not going to sacrifice me or something are you?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. It…"

The cat stopped and thought for a moment obviously trying to think of someway to explain things to her.

"It's just an old tradition." she said at length, "The reason I think has been lost in the depths of time. In any case, would you accompany me?"

"Um, sure I guess." replied Bunnie stepping forwards.

"If you'll excuse me I have a few things to attend to." said Sabrina as she gave a small bow and slipped off with Josh following close behind her.

The cat gave a nod and then led Bunnie up onto the stage and sat her down in a chair. Now that Bunnie was up close the stage was a lot bigger than it had first appeared. A long table lined with chairs sat to one side of stage near to a clear section upon which stood a microphone stand and the other side of the stage held a fairly large band. The cat slowly sat down next to Bunnie and turned to her.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Major Valencia but you may call me Jessie, nearly everyone in the town does." she said.

"Mayor?" replied Bunnie a little shocked before looking at the large key around the cat's neck, "Well I guess that explains the key."

"Yes I guess it does."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"I thought you'd ask that eventually, no-one else has told I gather."

"Not a word."

"Well I'll be opening the celebrations in a few minutes and soon after that there'll be a dance and a feast. You'll be the quest of honour."

"Guest of honour, well I'll be."

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, no-one told me anything about this until now."

"I see Sabrina wanted to keep it a surprise for you."

"You know her?"

Jessie leaned back in her chair and gave a small smile.

"Oh yes, long time friends, why do you ask?" she said.

"It's…I didn't think there were any more echidna's alive?" answered Bunnie.

"Any more? Well Sabrina is the only one I know, maybe you should talk to her yourself."

"Yes, yes I'll do that."

"Good, now you sit there and enjoy yourself, I have to get things rolling."

With that Jessie rose to her feet and crossed to the microphone set up a few feet away. She stood for a moment just watching the crowd bustling around her and then flicked the microphone on, giving a loud purr to attract everyone's attention. The crowd's chatter faded to nothing and everyone looked round at the stage.

"Friends and family of Harmony, you all know what today is so I need not speak of it. For many years our celebrations have been somewhat lacking but this year we have a reason to joyful. Now without further ado let us begin."

The cat's speech, although short was met with cheers and shouts as she finished. It was also met by a series of loud bangs as numerous fireworks went off behind the stage causing Bunnie to nearly jump out of her skin. Moments later the band began to play a joyous slow tune that could be mistaken for a jazzed up version of the waltz at times. A moment later Jessie, still at the microphone, began to sing is a slow soothing voice that lifted even above the noise of the music. Bunnie watched as various furries below her paired up and began to dance to the tune but a particular pairing caught her eye, that of MTP and Tifa. The pair were holding each other gently in their arms and swaying in time to the music. Tifa had unzipped a hidden zip along one side of her dress allowing her to move more freely and, even from her position on the stage, Bunnie could see that each of them were blushing brightly. Bunnie slowly began to scan the rest of the crowd, watching everyone as they danced to the music. She slowly relaxed into her chair and sighed, maybe she would stay a bit longer.


	3. Old Lives

Chapter 3 – Old Lives

Bunnie awoke with a gentle moan and yawn as a beam of sunlight broke through a slit in the curtains and ran across her face. She curled up slightly and then stretched as she opened her eyes, only to close them again because of the sun. After a moment she opened them again and rolled onto her side and glanced around the room she was in. She knew where she was of course, it was the spare room in Sabrina's house. The walls were a light peach colour and polished floorboards ran under foot covered in large rugs. Other than the bed, a small cupboard and a few pictures on the wall the room was pretty barren of furniture but then the room itself wasn't that large.

Bunnie rolled onto her back again and looked up at the ceiling, the previous playing on her mind as she lay there. After the dance had completed everyone had settled down for the feast and Bunnie had found herself at the centre of the conversation. She had found herself telling everyone about her adventure so far but had managed to skate around the reason for it. For one she still didn't feel like talking about it but secondly she hadn't wanted to dampen the atmosphere with the sad tale. At first Bunnie had been a bit tentative and shy but had soon found herself laughing and singing along with everyone else. She had to admit that the small towns friendliness was making her feel very content and peaceful.

The evening had continued long into the early hours of the morning before people had begun leaving. Bunnie had retired when Sabrina had taken Josh back to her house to put the young cat to bed but even so it had been at least two in the morning when this happened. Glancing over at a small clock on the cabinet beside her Bunnie saw that it was now approaching eleven in the morning and gave another yawn. Slowly she pushed herself up and sat for a moment to let herself wake up fully before slipping into a fresh set of clothes and heading downstairs. Sabrina must have heard her moving around upstairs as the echidna was standing at the foot of the stairs with a cup of coffee.

"Sleep well?" she asked offering the cup to Bunnie.

"Very well yes, thank you." replied Bunnie as she took the cup and cradled it for a moment before taking a sip.

"That's good, Josh is still asleep so could you be as quiet as you can until he wakes up?"

"No problem, I'm probably just going to sit down and relax for a while anyway. After last night I need some quiet time."

"I take it you enjoyed yourself then? You looked too tired last night to start asking question."

"Yes it was amazing, I've not had that much fun in quite some time."

Bunnie gave a small happy sigh before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Well that's good." replied Sabrina taking a few step down the corridor, "I have a few things to take care of so just make yourself at home and relax if you like."

Bunnie gave a small nod and headed into the lounge where she promptly collapsed into a chair and continued drinking her coffee. Soon after she made her way to the kitchen and set about getting herself some breakfast before returning to the living room. The morning was now nearly over and the sun was rising high into the sky as noon approached and yet the streets outside were deadly quiet. That is deadly quiet apart from the blue form of M crossing the road and heading towards the house. Bunnie watched the fox through the lounge window as he approached, the fox now wearing his usual red bandanna attire. There was a brief pause as M left Bunnie's view and then a knock on the door and a creek as the door opened.

"Yo Sabrina!" cried M's voice a moment later, "Sabrina you here?"

Bunnie cringed at the yell, not because of its volume but because of another fact she knew.

"Thank you very much for waking Josh you ball of blue fluff!" scream Sabrina down the stairs, "I hope you have life insurance because you're going to need it!"

Bunnie let out a quiet chuckle and looked towards the lounge door as M walked through with a cringe on his face. He slowly turned and closed the door behind him before heading over to a chair and sitting down near Bunnie. There was a moment of silence before Bunnie spoke.

"Oops?" she enquired.

"Major oops!" replied M still cringing, "Me and my big mouth."

"Oh it can't be that bad."

"Bunnie there are several things you should never do in Harmony. The first is never get Sabrina angry at you, she holds grudges."

"Uh huh…" nodded Bunnie finishing her breakfast, "So what did you want to talk to Sabrina about?"

"Oh that, even after a celebration like last night there are still things that need doing round here. The most important of them is scout duty, with all the trouble that's been going on over the last few years we like to keep an eye on our surroundings in case anything comes our way." replied M waving his hand to the side.

"Makes sense, we have the same thing where I'm from. What's the problem?"

"We work in week shifts, different pairs from around the village working together to keep watch. This week is Tifa and myself but I couldn't bring myself to wake her this morning, she looked to cute."

"Awwwww that's sweet sugar." chuckled Bunnie.

"Eh heh, yeah." blushed M rubbing the back of his head, "So basically I came to ask Sabrina if she knew anyone who might want to take her place today. Hey! You feel like it?"

"Who me?"

"Yeah, it'll give us a chance to get to know each other better too. You can never really talk to someone in a crowd."

"Well I guess I could, although I don't know anything about this scout duty."

"Ah no worries, you'll pick it up easily enough. Is that a yes then?"

"Ok, sure."

"Great!"

M flashed Bunnie a large smile and stood up, making his way over to the door.

"Well come on then." he said looking back.

"What? Now?" replied Bunnie.

"Yeah now, I'm already late as it is. Gotta get myself kited out first too."

"Oh, well ok then."

Bunnie gave her eyes a small rub and quickly got up, following the blue fox as he walked quickly from the room and headed outside. Bunnie took a moment to look around the streets as she left the house, there wasn't a soul moving as far as her eyes could see. Bunnie looked back at M to find he was already crossing the street and making his way into the town. Bunnie quickly closed the front door and followed after him, slipping a little on a fresh layer of snow that had fallen during the night.

M led Bunnie along the street and then took a left heading down a road towards the river. Bunnie hadn't been to this part of the town but it looked very much like the rest of it. Low houses, flower baskets and elegant lamp posts were just as common here as where she had been staying. Presently M stopped and headed into a garden, giving a glance over his shoulder as he did to make sure Bunnie was still with him.

"Be quiet when you come in, Tifa is still asleep." he said as he approached the front door.

"Is this your house?" asked Bunnie.

"Yeah." responded the fox pushing the door open and walking in.

Bunnie waited for a moment and then followed on after him, entering the front porch of the house. Upon entering Bunnie noticed an odd thing, one side of the porch was spotlessly clean with lines of coats and shoes arranged neatly on racks, the other side was a complete mess, the coats and shoes arranged in an undignified pile in one corner. Bunnie rose an eyebrow but said nothing as she continued on into the house. The construction was similar to Sabrina's house but smaller and with different décor. Various pictures lined the hallway she stood in, all of them being either painted landscapes or old photos, and a rather worn carpet ran down the middle of the wooden floor. Bunnie couldn't see any form of lighting but a number of candlesticks lined the walls on both sides of the hall although none of them were lit at the time.

Bunnie continued on into the house passing through an open door and walking into a kitchen. The walls were all wood panelling with a stone tiled floor and a small window overlooking the back garden, which at the moment was covered in a thick layer of snow. Below the window was a large pot sink beside which sat a pile of recently washed crockery and the remains of a rushed breakfast. Cupboards lined most of the other walls apart from one, which housed a large stone in front of which stood a familiar black fox.

"Well this is a surprise, sleep well Bunnie?" chimed Tifa as the rabbit came into view.

Bunnie gave a small startled jump and looked towards the fox, placing a hand on her breast as she did and giving a sharp breathe.

"Oh my, Tifa you startled me." she replied exhaling slowly.

"Sorry, I didn't know what else to do, you seemed to be in a world of your own."

"I was…was ah, admiring your décor." replied Bunnie with a slight blush as she gave another look around the room, "Have you seen M?"

"That fuzzball? Yeah he rushed through here a moment ago, can't you tell?"

Tifa waved her hand over towards the far back corner of the room where the door was swinging open. A little snow had blown in over the doorstep and Bunnie could see the start of some tracks that led out into the garden. Bunnie blushed again.

"Guess I didn't notice, what's he doing out there?"

"Getting ready for patrol, wait what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for M."

"Waiting for M." replied Tifa slowly.

"Yeah, he came round to ask if I'd take your place on patrol. He said you were sleeping…"

Bunnie gave Tifa an irritated look and then glanced at the door causing Tifa to laugh slightly.

"Well I was but when M gets up he's not particularly quiet, especially when he's in a rush." she replied adjusting the glasses on her nose.

"Ah hah." replied Bunnie rolling her eyes, "Well I guess it'll give me a chance to see the surroundings."

"That's true, sorry."

"Oh no problem I guess, least I can do after last night."

"Good time then?"

"Oh yes most definitely, I'll have to tell you about it."

"Maybe later tonight…"

Just then the sounds of feet in snow started to become audible and M quickly raced through the open kitchen door, grabbing Bunnie's hand and pulling her with him as he raced out of the other door.

"Come on Bunnie, no time to loose. Hi Tifa." was all he said.

Bunnie could do nothing but follow him at a sprint as the fleeting fox dragged her along. Tifa merely blinked slowly and shook her head slightly, M hadn't even registered that she was awake.

"Bye M." she said with a smirk.

-----------------------------------------

"So M, what exactly are we looking for?" asked Bunnie leaning back against a tree.

"Anything unusual or odd." replied M as he continued to adjust a small knob on the side of his gun.

"Uh huh."

Bunnie leaned backward and stretched slightly, leaning heavily against the tree behind her as she did. The pair currently sat on a small raised section of land that was covered in a low brush. A fresh layer of snow covered the ground and vegetation around them and the air was so crisp each breath caused a cloud of vapour to rise into the air. Bunnie slowly looked out over the surrounding area, which was as equally covered in snow as the hillock. To the south lay a great open field bordered by a few scruffy leafless hedges, the undisturbed snow looking more like a mirror than frozen water. Harmony lay back towards the east and a few whiffs of smoke could be seen rising above a hill the village sat behind. The north housed a winding road that snaked it way round a frozen lake and then off towards the west and east.

Bunnie gave the scene another look and then looked over at MTP. The blue fox was still fiddling with his weapon as he sat cross-legged on the ground. He seemed not to mind the fact that he was sitting in snow or that a slightly chilly breeze was now blowing across the hill. As Bunnie watched him the fox nearly dismantled his weapon and then proceeded to slot it back together with such care you would have thought the gun to be made of glass.

"Where did you get that thing anyway?" asked Bunnie curiously, "I've not seen anything like it before."

M looked up slowly and gave a small smile as he let his gun sink to his lap.

"Oh, from a friend." he replied with a sigh and a smile as he clipped the strap back onto his weapon and slung it over his shoulder.

"Which friend? Was he a scientist or something?"

"No, he was an inventor."

"Oh, ok."

M looked up slowly and caught a glimpse of Bunnie's still curious face, he gave a short laugh and patted the snow covered ground next to him.

"Come on, sit down and I'll tell you about it." he said with a chuckle.

Bunnie gave a look at the ground and wrinkled her nose slightly before kneeling down next to the fox. M smiled slightly as Bunnie swept an area clear of snow before she finally sat down.

"Don't like the snow eh?" he asked.

"It's not that, I just hate getting damp." replied Bunnie hugging her knees up to her chest.

"Oh believe me you get used to it after three years here."

"Mmm huh, I'll believe that when I see it."

After that Bunnie fell quiet and just looked at the blue fox. A light breeze blew past, making the trailing end of his red headband flutter slightly like a long streaming banner. Finally he turned his head and looked at Bunnie.

"Well if I'm going to tell you about this I might as well start from the beginning and tell you the whole story. If I don't you'll just end up asking questions." he said flatly as he adjusted his fluttering headband.

Bunnie just nodded silently, almost feeling like she was a small child waiting for a bed time story.

"Well I guess you could say it all started before I was born but that line is so over used." smiled M scratching his chin, "Let's just say it all started at the orphanage."

"You were an orphan?" asked Bunnie stupidly before covering her mouth and blushing.

"Yes I was an orphan Bunnie but not one of those ones you hear so much about, the ones that get picked on. No I was one of the normal kids who basically just hung around until someone decided to adopt us. Problem was, no-one seemed to want to adopt me."

"That's sad, do you know why?" asked Bunnie.

"Not a clue, I didn't mind though. I never knew my real parents and by the time I reached fourteen I was quite used to the place. It was then that my world got turned upside down, can you guess why?"

M looked at Bunnie, who was obviously counting years in her head, and waited. Finally Bunnie stopped dead and looked at the fox.

"That would have been 3250! The year Robotnik returned!" she said quickly.

M just gave a small nod and looked away.

"He must have been storing up quite a bit because he even reached our own town. We didn't get hit right away but news of Mobotropolis reached us very soon after that all hell broke loose. People were told not to panic but they did and they managed to forget about myself and everyone else at the orphanage at the same time. By the time they remembered us it was too late."

"What happened?"

"The orphanage was hit with a missile."

Bunnie's hands were on her mouth in a split second and her fur turning a slightly lighter colour added to her shocked look.

"Did everyone make it out?" she asked quickly.

"I have no idea to this day." replied M shaking his head, "One moment I was watching the attack going on outside and then…then there was this terrific bang and I woke up on a pile of rugs. Turns out one of the townsfolk had rescued me, an eagle called Jason Fharland."

"Was he the guy who gave you that?" enquired Bunnie pointing at M's rifle.

"Yeah." nodded M, "He often dropped by the orphanage asking if anyone would like to help him in his workshop and I had volunteered a few times. I got the full story from him when I had woken up enough, turned out Robotnik had just steam rolled us. A huge bulk of his forces had appeared out of nowhere, smashed and captured everything in sight and then moved on to the next area. Jason said I was lucky to be buried under a pile of rubble or they would have captured me too."

M stopped and looked up at the sky, his gaze fixed on the shifting patterns of the clouds above.

"Jason took me back to his lab after he rescued me, the place was built partially into a small cliff so it hadn't suffered that much damage. We were able to hide there pretty well for the most part, if there was anything good about Robotnik's tactic's it would be that he thought we were all dealt with and never really checked back.

"We spent a good two years hidden there during which time I found out quite a few things about myself and about Jason. For one he had thought about adopting me a number of times but didn't know if he was really capable, he didn't have much of a choice after the attack. It was during this time that Jason made and gave me this rifle."

M stopped to give the weapon a few gentle pats and then gripped the handle, bringing the sight up to his eye and aiming into the distance. He scanned the horizon with it and then lowered the gun, returning it to his lap again.

"I'll carry this thing for as long as I live as a thanks for what Jason did for me."

"What do you mean?" asked Bunnie curiously.

"Heh!" grunted M before sighing, "It all happened just after I met Tifa. Jason had gone out to collect some food and I was left at the lab to keep an eye on things. There hadn't been any activity from Robotnik in a few days but that was kind of normal for where we were. I was just looking out of the window, watching some birds outside I think, when I heard a scream and the sound of jet engines. I didn't have to wait long before I found out what it was that had screamed, it was Tifa. She was being chased by a number of Robotnik's security bots and I knew I had to do something. I took aim at one of the robots and fired, reducing it to a smoking wreck in a split second. I only managed to get a flanking shot off at the other robot before it got away but that wasn't on my mind then.

"I promptly rushed from the lab and found Tifa, shivering and afraid, curled up in a ball near the robot I'd destroyed. I was only sixteen at the time but I knew that she needed some help. I got her inside and sat her in front of a fire, giving her a little of the food we had at the time. It was then that I realised how pretty she was and made a note that she was about my age, one year older in fact.

"Jason was rather surprised when he returned later that evening. I explained what had happened but before he could say anything about it the entire lab lit up in a fireball. I later found out that the robot I had damaged had been able to make its way back to one of Robotnik's bases and a small force had been sent to destroy us. The first blast brought most of the roof down on our head and the next few brought the rest down. When the dust settled I found out that I was still alive and so was Tifa but…Jason wasn't in such good shape. Both his legs were smashed and one of his wings had been burnt badly, not to mention the pile of debris that sat on top of him.

"I couldn't believe it, Jason had been the closest thing to a father that I'd ever known and yet here he was about to die and there was nothing I could do about it. As a parting gift he gave me Sarah here."

M lifted his right arm, putting the small computer in plain view for Bunnie to see.

"He had been making it for himself but we both knew he wouldn't need it were he was going. After the task force had left. Tifa and myself crawled out of the rubble and I swore never to let myself rest as long as there were people out there who'd cause pain. Tifa decided to stay with me in light of recent events. I didn't really think she'd be of much use until I found out about her boomerang, you should get her to show you that you know, mighty impressive weapon it is."

Bunnie just gave a small nod and continued to watch M, waiting for him to go on.

"Well that's basically it really, Tifa and I stuck together, our relationship growing all the time, until we found Harmony about six months later. Since then we have stayed here and saw through the last part of Robotnik's reign protecting the village from attacks. We thought we'd be able to relax when word reached us of Robotnik's defeat but then the Alliance showed up and started causing trouble."

"They've been causing trouble all over the place." agreed Bunnie with a nod, "I know all about that."

M just looked away at the frozen landscape and gripped the handle of his gun tightly.

"I…I'm sorry about Jason." said Bunnie slowly, her ears drooping slightly.

"It ok." replied M before falling silent.

The rest of the watch was spent in complete silence, each of the pair lost in their own thoughts.

-----------------------------------------

When Bunnie and M got back to Harmony later that evening Tifa was waiting in the hallway. She seemed to be in a very cheerful mood for reasons she didn't explain but the look slipped away as she saw the solemn faces on Bunnie and MTP. The pair filed past her, M only just acknowledging her presence although Bunnie stopped.

"Hey Tifa." she said slowly, a distant tone in her voice.

"What is up with you two?!" exclaimed Tifa cheerfully, "You look like you've just lost a hundred Mobians betting on the Grav Races!"

M just gave a grunt and continued on down the corridor.

"I'm going out again, I still have evening watch to take care of." he said in a voice even more distant than Bunnies.

"Want me to come with…" started Tifa.

"No!" barked M looking over his shoulder, "I'd rather be alone for a while."

Tifa jerked her head back, surprised at M's tone, and then watched as, without a word, the fox left the corridor and headed outside into the back garden. Slowly the ivory black fox turned to the brown rabbit stood beside her.

"What,"stressed Tifa, "is all that about?! And why do you both look so down?"

"I'm not down, just thinking." replied Bunnie looking up at Tifa.

"About?"

"The past."

Tifa's eyes suddenly gave a glimmer and her expression fell to a small smile.

"You asked him about his rifle didn't you?" she said plainly.

"How…?"

"Did I know? M doesn't talk about his past that much at all and only a few people, including myself, know about it. I've noticed that he tend to explain it though if you ask about his rifle, even so you should count yourself lucky he told you, most of the time he just barks at people when they ask."

Bunnie just gave a small nod and looked away. Just then she felt a light poke on her shoulder caused by Tifa's hand prodding her.

"You know, too much thinking is bad for you. What say you join me for a cup of hot chocolate seems as though M wants to be by himself. I haven't had anyone to talk to all day apart for five minutes when Josh came round this afternoon."

"Well…" replied Bunnie slowly.

"Good! You go sit down in there and I'll get some drinks."

Tifa gave a broad smile and quickly turned tail, heading for the kitchen. As she moved her tail rose up and formed into a point, gesturing towards the living room. Bunnie couldn't help but give a small laugh, she sometimes had wished for a long tail to do stuff like that with. She gave a slow nod and walked into the living room, finding a large chair by the fire and sitting down. The fire was roaring in the harth, spilling a flickering light around the small room to accompany the dim light from several petroleum lamps. The tan rabbit gave a long look out of the window to see that the evening was already turning into night and the sun was setting behind the horizon.

Bunnie's thoughts were then interrupted by a gentle sound flowing in from the kitchen. The sounds were tuneful notes produced by Tifa as she sung quietly to herself. Bunnie perked both of her ears, attempting to make out the words the fox was singing but found that she couldn't. She promptly drooped her ears again and raised a hand to scratch her right ear hole.

"Bah! My ears are getting more and more useless the older I get." complained the rabbit in an easily audible voice.

"Bad ears?" asked a voice.

Bunnie turned sharply to see Tifa heading into the room carrying two large mugs. The fox handed one to Bunnie and then sat down opposite her in another chair.

"Well eh, sorta." replied Bunnie a little sheepish.

"In this cold environment your ears can become a little sensitive, if you like I can arrange to have Sabrina take a look at them for you."

"No no, that's alright, I'm ok."

"You sure?"

"Yes, thank you though."

"Not at all."

Tifa promptly placed her drink down on the harth and leaned back in her chair, almost melting into the padded cushions. Bunnie looked at her for a moment and then caught sight of Tifa's own ears, now being pushed over her shoulders as she lay back into the chair.

"Uh Tifa, can I ask you something?" queried Bunnie hesitantly.

"Hmm? Oh of course, what's on your mind?" replied Tifa lifting her head slightly.

"Your ears aren't normal for a vulpine are they?"

Tifa gave another smile and sat up, picking up her drink and giving her head a shake.

"No they're not." she replied before taking a sip of her drink.

"Can I ask how you got them?"

"Not a problem. You see my family is a mix species marriage. My mother was a vixen like me but my father was a canine, a spaniel to be exact. My mother said that she just couldn't resist his eyes and I have to admit his gaze did tend to make you feel very special."

Tifa ran her hands over her shoulder and flicked her ears over her shoulders giving Bunnie a clear view of them under her crimson hair.

"And that's where they come from, spaniel ears."

"Hehe! I wouldn't have imagined something like that happening. It's a little strange to get a mix like that. Most mixed marriages come out with one species or the other."

Bunnie's thoughts drifted back to Never Lake where Sonic, Sally and everyone else were. Now that she found herself thinking about her home she started to feel slightly home sick but she was pulled out of her thoughts quickly by Tifa's reply.

"Yes that's what happens most times but I guess my family felt like being the exception to the rules."

"Where are your parents now?" asked Bunnie taking a sip of her own drink.

Tifa raised her head to the ceiling and gave a small sigh.

"I can tell you where my mother is but I'm not sure about my father." she replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"My mother is dead." replied Tifa looking back at Bunnie.

Bunnie quickly felt a wave of guilt rush over her and she looked down slightly.

"Oh! I'm sorry Tifa, I didn't know."

"It's alright Bunnie. I carry her with me." said Tifa lightly patting the gold amulet around her neck, "She gave this to me a long time ago and I cherish it for her."

"You're an amazing person Tifa." said Bunnie looking up with a small smile.

"Thank you." replied Tifa, a hint of sadness in her voice, "It's hard sometimes but I know she'd want me to keep going. At any rate, that's my mother, my father I don't know, I lost contact with him years ago when Robotnik took over again."

Bunnie let out a sharp sigh, "That man destroyed so much."

Tifa just replied with a nod and a small pause and for a moment neither of them spoke. Finally Bunnie looked towards the crackling fire and gave a sigh.

"M told me about how you first met each other." she said.

"He did huh? I was a mess back then." replied Tifa looking at the fire herself.

"What happened? M said you were being chased by one of Robotnik's security patrols."

"Yeah I was, I was a loose cannon so to speak."

"Huh?"

"Before Robotnik came back I lived with my father in Mobotropolis….I see you've heard of it."

Tifa stopped to look at Bunnie's expression, which was quite evidently shock. Bunnie promptly closed her mouth, which was hanging open slightly, and composed herself.

"I…er…used to live there myself." she replied.

"Aaaah." nodded Tifa, "Then you know how beautiful a place it was before Robotnik returned. I lived there with my father, my mother had passed away a few years before. We were a fairly wealthy family but not overly so, you could say we were upper middle class. When Robotnik took over my father stayed behind in Mobotropolis to fight. I was only fifteen at the time and my father wouldn't allow me to stay with him to help. At first I felt like, like he was abandoning me, like he was sending me away. I told him I wasn't useless, they knew my skills…my powers."

"Powers? What do you mean?"

"Guess you wouldn't know would you, here."

Tifa leant back and dipped her hand into a large pouch pocket on the belt that was slung around her waist. She slowly drew out two small six-inch long cylindrical tubes that looked a little like the grips on a sword. Tifa held them for a moment and then handed them over to Bunnie. The rabbit was a little confused as she turned the items over in her hand, trying to figure out exactly what they were, and then handed them back still looking confused. Tifa took the handles from Bunnie and turned them over in her hands herself for a moment before the obvious question raised its head.

"What are those?" asked Bunnie raising a hand to scratch the side of her head.

"A gift from my mother, handed down on her side of the family for generations. It's strange but it's always the female who are sensitive to it, maybe it needs a feminine touch?"

Tifa promptly threw one of the handles into the air a few feet and held out the other in her hand vertically. As Bunnie watched an odd shimmer ran through the air between Tifa's hand and the airborne handle. The shimmer quickly passed and, starting from Tifa's hand, a bright yellow colour shot into the air. The colour flashed between both handles, the one in the air stopping suddenly and aligning with the other, as the colour began to take on a physical form. It only took a few seconds for this to happen and when it was finished Tifa held a large yellow coloured boomerang in her hand. It was easily four foot long, if not slightly more and the curve between the two handles was delicate and fairly shallow in angle. At each end of the boomerang was a small flick of colour that appeared to be some sort of stabilising fin.

"Well? What do you think Bunnie?" asked Tifa cocking her head slightly.

"That…..wha…..that's amazing!" Bunnie finally managed to stammer.

Tifa appeared pleased at the reaction and giggled slightly before holding out the boomerang to Bunnie.

"Go on take a closer look if you like, it won't vanish again until I make it."

Bunnie slowly reached out and took hold of the giant sized wing but made sure to grasp the handles first. It took her a moment but she finally reached out and touched the main part of the boomerang, lightly pressing her fingers against it and gasping.

"It's solid!" she said to herself, forgetting that Tifa was still there.

"Yes it is, it's a strange thing and I've not figured out all its secrets yet. My mother gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday, the start of my teenage years. I didn't know what it was back then, it just looked a pair of handles to me. I gave one of those 'oh thank you so much, it's just what I've always wanted' acts but I know now my mother must have seen right through it. It wasn't long after that that she passed away, she never did get to tell me what it was."

There was a momentary pause in the conversation which Tifa spent thinking back on her past and Bunnie examining the weapon in her hands. Finally Tifa spoke again.

"Well I get off track, I was telling you about my home. Like I said my father stayed behind to help fight and I wanted to help too. My father finally agreed but I didn't last long. The sight of those cruisers heading towards the city was bad enough but the gas they were spewing was even worst. I stood and watched as every living plant died and turned to ash, I watched as our homes were turned into metal blocks and worst of all I…"

Tifa trailed off and shed a single tear, which she quickly wiped away, before looking at the fire.

"I watched that mist robotisise everyone in its path. The first defence line fell first, turning into metal statues in a split second. People I knew, people I didn't know, it didn't matter to that mist. Young, old, male, female…they all became Robotnik's servants and there was nothing anyone one of us could do."

It was at this point that Tifa found herself unable to hold out. Tears began to roll down her face as she stared at the flicking fire in front of her.

"I turned and ran, I left everyone and everything I knew and joined the crowds of people fleeing the city. I could hear my father shouting to me as I ran but I couldn't bring myself to turn round. I…I was terrified."

Tifa gulped back a choke and shut her eyes, her thoughts flowing back to meet the memories of her parents that she had lost. It was only a moment later that her eyes shot open in shock as something touched her hand. The something was Bunnie's hand, the older rabbit having got up, crossed over to her and placed it there. Bunnie took hold of Tifa's hand lightly and pulled her to her feet before taking her into a light embrace. Tifa didn't have the want or need to break it and wrapped her arms round Bunnie as she sunk her head into her shoulder and started to sob.

"I miss them Bunnie! I miss them so much it hurts!" she wailed loudly into Bunnie's shoulder.

Bunnie just replied by patting the back of Tifa's head with one of her hands and making a quiet hissing shush sound.

"Hush dear, it's alright. I'm sorry that I asked you about this, I didn't know you were so sensitive about it." replied Bunnie.

Bunnie felt Tifa shake her head against her shoulder and emit a few gasping sobs. The fox slowly released her grip on Bunnie and pulled back, resting her hands on Bunnie's shoulders. Tifa's lower face was stained with tears that still streamed from her watery eyes. She sniffed one, blinking hard as she did to force the tears from her eyes.

"No, thank you Bunnie. Every time I talk about it, it gets a little easier to do so. A little of the pain drifts away and I feel less guilty for running away." she said slowly.

Bunnie just gave a small smile and placed her own hands on Tifa's shoulders, after which the pair stood looking at each other in silence for a few minutes. Finally Tifa looked away and let her hands drop from Bunnie's shoulders as she sat down again. Bunnie followed suit, sitting down opposite the fox once more.

"After I ran I didn't know what to do." said Tifa looking at the ceiling, "There was no-one I knew outside the city and so I just wandered aimlessly for a few days. I didn't know where I was going or what kind of world I was in back then, I had to a degree been slightly sheltered by my parents. The problem was that Robotnik knew what kind of world he was in too much. I don't know how he found out about me, maybe he was just chasing the various groups fleeing the city, but whatever the reason I found myself the subject of a fox hunt. I managed to avoid them for a while but finally they caught up and found me, it was then that I ran into M, who managed to save me but at a cost that I'm sure he's already told you about."

Bunnie just gave a nod to show that she did indeed know what Tifa was meaning and then sat back in her chair. Neither spoke for a moment, the full extent of Bunnie's original question answered in full, but Bunnie herself now had another question to ask.

"Tifa, do you mind if I ask something else?" she said slowly.

"No, go ahead." replied Tifa rubbing the corner of her eye.

"Do you think your father is still alive?"

Bunnie was unsure what reaction the question would receive. She just hoped it wasn't too much for Tifa to handle. Tifa shut her eyes and shook her head slowly.

"I haven't seen him since the day I fled Mobotropolis. I've wanted to go out looking for him but I have no idea where to start. This world is too big to just go looking without a lead and with all the trouble recently it would be very dangerous."

"Yes, I see your point Tifa."

"But I'm not giving up, my father is not dead until I see him so. I'll find him one day and then we'll be a family again!" said Tifa clasping the locket around her neck, "Mother, father and me! A family once again….forever!"

Tifa choked back another sob violently and nearly burst into tears once more. She looked over at Bunnie, who looked about ready to get up and comfort her again, and spoke.

"Bunnie, do you think you would be able to spend the night at Sabrina's house tonight."

Bunnie looked a little shocked and her ears drooped in front of her face.

"I hope I haven't said anything bad." she said quickly, an edge of nervousness tinting her voice.

"No, nothing bad, I just need a little to myself, alone."

Bunnie's shocked expression slowly faded from her face and she gave a light sigh, her ears returning to their earlier position.

"Ok Tifa, I'll go." she said getting up slowly, "It'll all be ok Tifa, you'll see."

"I hope so Bunnie, I hope so." replied the fox looking down and closing her eyes.

Bunnie didn't say anything more and slowly headed towards the door. As her hand touched the door handle, a faint voice caught her ear.

"Bunnie?"

Bunnie looked over her shoulder to find Tifa looking at her once more.

"Thank you." said the fox with a small smile.

Bunnie returned Tifa's smile and bowed her head slightly.

"Good night Tifa, pleasant dreams." replied the rabbit before slipping silently from the room.

-----------------------------------------

Bunnie crossed the lamp lit streets of Harmony at a slow pace. The clouds currently shielded the moon from sight and the slight glare of the street lamps blotted out the stars, above her was a void of blackness.

Bunnie began to think about what M and Tifa had told her as she let her feet guide her through the town. It seemed that it wasn't just her own life that was filled with loss and sadness, both M and Tifa had suffered as well. M had lost his childhood friend and Tifa her parents, and yet they had kept going, weighed down by the sadness but never stopped. Bunnie found herself comparing what she was doing to what Tifa had done earlier in her life. She had run away from her father because she couldn't handle her emotions and Bunnie now realised that she was doing exactly the same thing. She had left everyone on Little Planet when they needed her most to try and find a way to ease her pain. She began to wonder if there really was anything that could soothe her pain except maybe time.

As she though about her pain, the loss of her love, she felt tears welling up in her own eyes and a lump forming in her throat. Unlike Tifa, she had no hope, Knuckles was not coming back this time and there was nothing she could do about it. This realisation struck her like a runaway freight train and she couldn't contain herself any longer. She finally burst into tears and began to sob quietly as she continued to walk.

Presently she found herself walking up the path to Sabrina's house. There was a faint light on in the living room window but otherwise the house was dark and silent. Bunnie stopped in front of the front door and simply looked at it, as of right now she couldn't bring herself to knock on it. Instead she turned her back to the door and fell back against the wall next to it, bringing a hand up to cover her face.

She stayed like this for a moment, sobbing quietly to herself, before the door gave a small click. Bunnie had little time to react as the door opened and Sabrina poked her head out and looked round. The echidna caught sight of Bunnie almost immediately and turned towards her, her face full of concern.

"Bunnie dear what's wrong, why are you standing there?" she asked quickly.

Bunnie didn't respond, instead she just kept crying not caring that Sabrina was there. The echidna took a step towards Bunnie and slowly pulled her away from the wall, slipping an arm round her back as she did, and started to guide her inside. Bunnie didn't resist at all, she just let her feet do what they wanted as Sabrina ushered her inside and into the living room. She sat Bunnie down in a chair and left the room quickly, returning a moment later with a cup of tea and kneeling down next to Bunnie.

"Here drink this." said Sabrina taking hold of one Bunnie's hands and pushing the cup into it.

Bunnie didn't make any further move at all, she just looked down at the cup, a tear from her eye falling from her face and landing with a splash in the cup. Sabrina gave a sigh and placed both of her hands around Bunnie's hand and the cup.

"Please dear, what's wrong?" she asked again, "It's not normal for a person to be standing outside in the cold crying."

Slowly Bunnie raised her head to meet Sabrina's gaze but quickly dropped it back down again. She gave a sniff as she stared down at the cup in her hand.

"Nothing." she replied quietly.

Sabrina wasn't being fooled at all but for the sake of argument decided not to challenge Bunnie's words. She let go of Bunnie's hand and stood up, crossing over to another chair in the room and bending over. Bunnie slowly turned her head to watch Sabrina, noticing that she was picking something up. The something turned out to be the curled up sleeping form of Josh. The cat was tucked up into a tight ball, both of his hands wrapped firmly around his tail, and was purring gently to himself. Sabrina only just managed to pick up the cat and then left the room, cradling Josh in her arms.

Bunnie was left on her own for a short while with only the sound of the fire next to her to break the stillness. She slowly raised the cup to her mouth and took a small sip, the warm liquid making little improvement on her mood. A few moments later Sabrina appeared once again and sat down opposite Bunnie, picking up a book from a small table next to her.

"Let me read you a little story." she said, taking no notice of Bunnie's reaction to the prepossession, "Once upon a time there was a small child who lived a life of misery. Everyone he knew bullied him and even his own parents didn't like him that much. His life was a complete mess and he was often found crying in secluded corners where he thought no one could find him. Every time he was asked what was wrong and every time he replied by saying nothing was wrong. Finally one day he ran away from everything he knew into the wilderness in an attempt to get away from it all. He was found by a gentle hearted woman as she was out taking a walk and she took him into her home.

"She could tell he had been crying and asked what was wrong, why he had been out in the middle of nowhere. He didn't reply and instead, curled up in a corner of her house and started crying. It took many weeks of asking and kindness before the child finally told her what was wrong. When he did he felt a giant weight lift from his shoulders and his mood brightened. He was no longer held back by the past and could move on and enjoy his life to the fullest without fear or worry knowing that he was surrounded by friends."

"That's just a story." said Bunnie as Sabrina finished.

"You think so?" asked Sabrina putting the book down, "What would you say if I said the boy was a small snow leopard and woman was a pink coloured echidna?"

Bunnie just looked up, a small look of disbelief on her face.

"You…?" she murmured quietly.

Sabrina gave a nod, "Yes that is the story of how Josh came to meet me. He was such a state when I found him and would hardly let me be in the same room as him for a while. Once he told me about his past though our friendship strengthened beyond anything either of us could imagine. If it possible he is even closer to me than my own child might have been."

Sabrina gave a small sigh and smiled slightly, picking up her own cup of tea from the table next to her and taking a small sip.

"That said he still has a small hold on his past that affects his actions. Have you ever wondered why he never lets go of his tail?"

Bunnie couldn't help but nod slightly causing Sabrina to chuckle slightly.

"The other children in his old neighbourhood thought it was a fun idea to pull and step on it whenever they could. You do that to any part of your body for a length of time and it's sure to bruise, Josh's tail is rather sensitive to anything touching it so he keeps a firm grip on it to make sure no one step on it again. Now! As for you, I know that something is troubling you…and it is a deep trouble. You've neglected to tell anyone about how you came to our village or where you're really from. You have shied away from any such question but I know who you are my dear."

Bunnie looked up at Sabrina once again and gave a small questioning look through her tears.

"I couldn't be sure at first but I've been doing some digging today and I know for certain now. There was once a small group of Freedom Fighters that fought for the future of all Mobius and still do. They operated out of a place known only as Knothole, a place that will forever have a meaning in our planet's history. The group was led by a pair of figures who will be forever remembered when they pass away, a pair that until recently ruled this world with a caring hand that makes even my kindness look terrible in comparison.

"Yes I know who you are my dear. You are the carer of that group, the motherly figure with a heart of gold and a will of steel. The one who returned to Mobotropolis to run a quiet little restaurant and has now found her way to our quiet little town. A close friend of that earlier pair, Sonic and Sally, Bunnie….Rabbot."

Bunnie just stared at Sabrina with a look of disbelief on her face. _How did she know?_ Sabrina caught the look on Bunnie's face and smiled slightly.

"It wasn't hard to tell when I worked a few things out. I've known all about Knothole for some time, the legend of that place is present even in these barren northern plains. I even visited the place after Robotnik was first defeated, I had hoped to meet one of you but luck was not on my side at the time. Your accent also made me wonder if you could be her, I don't know of many other rabbits with a southern accent.

"Then the other day Tifa told me you used to run a restaurant a few years ago and finally the fact of how helpful and caring you've been to everyone since you got here. I have to admit I wasn't entirely sure but it seems I was right in my thinking yes."

"I…I didn't think anyone would recognise me." murmured Bunnie, her tears stopping for now.

"Well at first I didn't but it didn't take long to work out who you were once the clues started coming in."

Sabrina leaned forwards again and put her hands round the Bunnie's hand that was still holding the cup. She blinked once slowly and then looked into her eyes forcing Bunnie to look away slightly.

"I heard that you filled in for Tifa on patrol today and I would be willing to bet you ended up talking about something sensitive with M, and I take it you just came from Tifa's house."

Bunnie gave a nod.

"I thought so, you've been talking too much and talk can bring up so many memories that we sometimes can't handle them. It's all right to feel as you are, it's natural and everyone feels that way at some point, but you always feel better after you tell someone else about it. Come on now, I know who you are but I do not know why you are here, tell me what is troubling you and why you're out travelling all alone? Even the comforters need comforting sometimes."

Bunnie waited for a moment, still trying to meet Sabrina's gaze, and then looked towards her. As soon as her eyes met with Sabrina's Bunnie's mouth opened and didn't shut for at least an hour. She talked about Knothole and Knotlake, about her time in Mobotropolis, about the lives she had seen destroyed and about the pain everyone had been through. All the way through Sabrina just sat and listened, not speaking at all the whole time Bunnie was talking. Finally Bunnie got to the part about loosing Knuckles, to which Sabrina's expression turned to one of sadness. It was also at this point that Sabrina spoke for the first time.

"So that explains the way you reacted to me when we first met. You thought Knuckles was the last of his kind alive." she said.

"Yes, I was amazed to see you...there are more echidna's in this world that we didn't know about. Knuckles would have been so happy to hear that, to know he wasn't the last of his kind…"

Bunnie once again broke into tears and fell sideways into the arm of the chair. Sabrina leaned over to put an arm round her shoulder.

"Bunnie, there's nothing I can say that will make his passing easier. He died defending you and the others he cared about, there is no greater deed in this world. He is a hero and you must remember him as such, a hero who loved you like you loved him. Don't cry for him Bunnie, use your grief to forge a path through your pain and fight for the world you believe in. That is what he did Bunnie."

Bunnie just replied by giving a small nod as she started to sob once again. Sabrina decided to say no more and stayed where she was with her arm around Bunnie's shoulder. Slowly Bunnie's sobs began to get quieter and eventually stopped. Sabrina removed her arm to find out that the rabbit had cried herself to sleep. The echidna gave a small nod and gently laid the tips of her fingers against Bunnie's shoulder.

"Yes Bunnie, you have a good rest, it'll do you good." she spoke quietly before removing her hand, "Please try to understand Bunnie, please."


	4. New Lives

Chapter 4 – New Lives

"Welcome aboard the Veil commander!" spoke a voice from a chair.

Morgan Jake took a step forwards, passing through a thick metal door that separated the bridge of the ship from the corridor that led to it. The door gave a hiss and slid back to place with a heavy thud as Morgan started to make his way further onto the bridge. The bridge itself was very thin, with a frontal viewing screen at the far end. Lines of consoles with various officers at them lined both of the side walls and pipes and electrical conduits ran across the ceiling. At the front of the bridge sat two consoles that appeared to be the main operating consoles for navigation and weapons and behind this sat the chair the earlier voice had come from.

Presently this chair turned round to reveal the occupant and captain of the vessel Morgan was standing in. She was a tall woman in her late thirties wearing the same uniform as Morgan and the rest of the crew on the bridge. That said there were a few differences in her appearance to the others around her. Her ginger coloured hair was cut short and was mostly covered with a deep maroon coloured beret that she wore on her head at an angle. Mounted on her right shoulder and upper arm was the base plate for a type four energy bazooka but the weapon itself was not present. The plate was used to attach the weapon to the person using it so they could steady themselves when they fired it.

Morgan had once enquired as to why she wore the base plate during her normal day and had received a very straight forward answer, "You never know when a normal day will turn into a battlefield when it comes to war, better safe than sorry.". Morgan remembered the day he had asked that very clearly, it had been his last one night stand before he had met Kerry.

"Long time no see." said the woman flatly as she chewed absently on a pair of glasses that Morgan knew was just for show.

"Quite so Alex, how are you?" replied Morgan with a smile.

"Not too bad, better for seeing you." replied Alex smiling also.

Alex Rand, one of a few female captains assigned to the Mobius mission. She had had a fairly quiet career until she had met Morgan some fifteen years previous. After a rather unsteady meeting in a bar the pair had got to know each other fairly well and Morgan, being a higher rank back then as he was now, had helped advance her career a little in certain areas. Alex hadn't been too happy about it, claiming she could do it on her own but none the less accepted his help when it came around. She was now the captain of a Swarm class missile corvette, the Veil, and was at a high point in her career.

"So would you care on filling me in on the details?" asked Alex, taking the glasses from her mouth and putting then away in her pocket.

"Straight to business as always eh captain, very well." replied Morgan as he gave a glance around the bridge, "Just where is your office on this thing?"

Alex just laughed as she stood up.

"Missing the wide open spaces of bigger ships are we? This way."

Alex stepped passed Morgan, casting him a small smile as she went, and headed out of the bridge. Morgan followed close behind, not wanting to get lost, as the door slid shut again behind them. Alex led them down the corridor and took a left, the corridor actually getting thinner the further they went. Morgan began to feel claustrophobic, even though he didn't have that fear, the Veil reminded him of how the old nuclear submarines had been centuries ago. Finally they came to a door and Alex stopped, opening the door with a card and stepping inside.

Inside Morgan was surprised to find that Alex's office was also her quarters and they weren't that big either. A desk with two chairs was located in one corner of the room, the opposite corner holding a fold down bed that looked like it hadn't been made in a few days. A single soft chair sat near to the bed along with a small table that housed a plant along with a small pile of books and a couple of cups. Morgan couldn't see any sort of food making facilities in the room and assumed that Alex must have to join the crew in the mess for food. The rest of the room was pretty bare, holding only a few personal items and nothing much else. If Morgan knew Alex as well as he thought he did she probably spent most of her time on the bridge anyway.

Alex showed Morgan over to the desk and they both sat down, Alex resting her feet on a small buffet next to her chair and sitting back. For a moment neither spoke but finally Alex raised her hand off to the side and did so.

"I'm sorry I can't offer you anything to drink or eat, life on a corvette ship is somewhat more restricted and rough that a cruiser." she said raising her eyebrows slightly.

"It's ok, I ate before I got here anyway. I noticed the rather cramped conditions." replied Morgan looking round.

"You get used to it, I think it's rather cosy now. Saying that I do like to go out on deck ever one in a while."

"I can imagine that a space mission is rather testing then."

"Yes, at least here on this planet we can get a breath of fresh air occasionally, now what is this mission you have?"

Morgan gave a nod and fished in his pocket for a moment, finally pulling out a disk and handing it to Alex.

"I hope you have a computer station in this room." he said with a chuckle.

Alex just rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. Turning round she pressed a button on the wall and a cover slid up revealing a computer monitor and keyboard fitted into the wall of the room. Alex inserted the disk into a slot and stood for a minute at the computer. She occasionally pushed a button or made a small interested noise but for the most part remained still, finally sitting back down in her chair and handing the disk back to Morgan.

"So basically the president has something planned that will take care of this place and we're to mess around in the meantime." she said.

"I wouldn't have put it that way, he wants us to create a number of distractions that will keep their attention here on Mobius and hopefully draw in our rebel friends. He's definitely planning something but I can't tell what." replied Morgan rubbing his chin.

"You think too much Morgan. How many times do I have to tell you, you're not a thinking type of person, you're the kind of guy that'll follow orders to a tee without question or hesitation."

"Yeah but I can't help thinking about this, it was something in his voice."

Alex promptly got up and walked round behind Morgan. Morgan followed her with his eyes and was about to ask what she was doing when suddenly Alex's hands made contact with Morgan's shoulders and began to massage them.

"Now Commander, don't go thinking too hard, concentrate on the mission at hand and everything else will see to itself."

Morgan didn't reply, instead he just relaxed his shoulders and let Alex's hands go to work. He hadn't seen her in ages but he remembered how good she was at making a person unwind. Morgan sank a bit further into his chair and continued to enjoy the attention his shoulders were getting when suddenly he felt something nip his ear.

"You know I've really missed you." Alex whispered into his ear as she bit down a little more on it.

"Alex don't." replied Morgan, "I'm married now, and as much as I'd enjoy another wild night with you I'm loyal to Kerry." replied Morgan tilting his head away slightly.

The next thing that happened was Morgan giving a small scream as Alex dug her nails into his shoulder's roughly.

"You're such a spoil sport Morgan." she said as she removed her hands.

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The morning sun was rising over Harmony village as Bunnie woke from her slumber. It was perhaps the middle of the morning and definitely a good time to have breakfast, which is exactly what Bunnie smelt the second she came round enough to take notice of her senses. A smell of cooking eggs wafted in from the kitchen as well as the smell of freshly made break and boiling fruit.

Bunnie pushed herself upright, sitting up properly in her seat and looking around the room. Her eyes stung a bit from all the crying she had done the night before but for some reason she didn't feel like crying at the moment. Instead she fished a tissue from her pocket and tried to wipe the dried tears from her face. The fire had long since gone out during the night and the room had a slight bitter edge to it, which caused her fur to stick up slightly. She decided to go and investigate the smells coming in from the kitchen and got up slowly, stretching her legs and back to shed the last traces of sleep from her body, before heading out of the door and round to the kitchen.

Sabrina stood next to the stove stirring a pan of something when Bunnie entered the room. Bunnie also noticed Josh to one side of the room who was trying to cut a slice of bread from a newly cooked loaf of bread. The cat was having some trouble seems as though he was trying to do it with only one hand, his other fixed firmly to his tail. The sight of Josh holding his tail brought back the events of the previous night and Bunnie sniffed slightly, absently wiping her eyes again as she did. The sniff was enough to attract the attention of Sabrina, causing the echidna to turn round and look at Bunnie.

"Good morning dear." she said in a joyous tone.

Josh promptly dropped the knife he was using to cut his bread and turned to look over his shoulder, giving a broad smile and a wave as he did, before going back to his bread cutting attempt. Sabrina gave her pan another stir and then lifted it from the stove, placing it on a heatproof mat on the table in the middle of the room. It was then that Bunnie noticed the table and it's contents.

Three plates had been set out, each with their own supply of cutlery and cups. A selection of different jams were lined up in pots in the middle of the table along with a block of butter, a plate of fried eggs, the loaf Josh was trying to cut, a selection of cereals and the contents of the pan Sabrina had put on the table, which turned out to be stewed plums. Bunnie quickly realised she hadn't replied to Sabrina yet and looked away from the table quickly.

"Morning." she said slowly still unsure of her emotions at this point in time.

Sabrina gave a smile and waved her hand at one of the chairs around the table.

"Sit down and get yourself some breakfast dear, I can imagine you're probably hungry."

Bunnie just nodded and sat down where Sabrina had indicated. For a moment she just looked at the table and its contents before a grumble to her side caught her attention. Josh was still trying to cut the loaf and was now starting to mangle it he had made so many attempts. Bunnie had to admire his determination but slowly leaned over and placed a hand on his lightly causing Josh to looked over at her with a questioning look.

"Allow me sugar." said Bunnie as she took the knife from Josh.

She cut off the bit he had mangled and then cut several fresh slices before placing the knife down and smiling at Josh. The cat quickly scooped a slice up and gave a grin at Bunnie.

"Thanks." he said quietly and quickly retreated to his own seat where he began to spread liberal amounts of honey onto the slice.

Bunnie herself also took a slice and then helped herself to a bowl of cereal, a couple of fried eggs and finally started to dig into the stewed plums. Bunnie soon found herself forgetting her troubles and concentrated on eating until she had satisfied her hunger and then sat back in her chair. It was then that she noticed that Sabrina had also sat down and was finishing off the remains of her eggs. Josh had already disappeared but this didn't surprise Bunnie at all. Presently Sabrina placed her cutlery down and looked at Bunnie.

"Enjoy breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes, it was lovely." replied the rabbit quietly.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"A little maybe."

"I see, well I'll not mention it again or tell anyone else what you told me. This is something you need to work out on your own."

Bunnie replied by giving a nod and sighed slowly. Sabrina got up and started to clear away a few pots, placing them in the sink to be washed later. Bunnie slowly got up from her seat and looked out of the window.

"Do you mind if I go out?" she asked.

"No not at all, I can manage the clearing up on my own, besides a walk will do you good." replied Sabrina as she returned the butter to the fridge.

Bunnie gave a small smile in thank you and walked from the kitchen. She headed to the front door and opened it, catching a large gust of wind as she did. The rabbit shivered and pulled a scarf from coat rack next to her before wrapping it round her neck and stepping outside. The path was cold under her bare feet but she had long ago gotten used to not wearing shoes ever since she had been de-robotisized.

She headed towards the centre of the town, not really knowing where she was going and yet again letting her feet guide her. She passed a few residents as she walked along, each of them giving her a smile or a nod as she passed by. She tried to return the gestures as best she could but she had a feeling she had them all wondering if something was wrong. In fact Bunnie didn't know if something was wrong or not, she had been thinking of Knuckles ever since she left the house and yet she hadn't shed a single tear. Had Sabrina been right?

Just then she heard a faint humming noise in the air, the type of noise a distant thunderstorm might make. Bunnie rubbed her ears slightly, wondering if she was just hearing things. For a start the sky was crystal blue without a cloud in it so it couldn't be a thunderstorm, maybe what Tifa said about her ears getting sensitive was right.

However she was soon proved wrong as several other people around her raised their heads and titled their head slightly, obviously hearing the noise too. It was then that another noise caught Bunnie's ear, but this time is was not a simple noise, it was a voice.

"Alarm! Alarm!" it carried on the wind followed by a shrill whistle and the voice again.

Bunnie's ears pin pointed the sound almost immediately, the rabbit turning in the direction it was coming from. There, running full sprint down a hill towards the village was the form of MTP. His rifle was raised into the air and as she watched he fired several shots into the air, a dull boom echoing around the village as he cried again.

"Alarm! Incoming! INCOMING!" he screamed, the fox now tearing into the village.

All around her, everyone's attitudes suddenly shifted. They dropped what they were doing, conversations and actions completely forgotten as they sprung into action. The women around quickly rounded up any children and hustled them off the streets while everyone else ran to various buildings, appearing soon after with various weapons. Bunnie found herself following MTP as he ran through the streets towards the north side of the town. She didn't know where he was going but his pace didn't slack for a moment and Bunnie started to find it hard to keep up.

Presently thought, M stopped outside a brick built house that was considerably larger than the rest in the village. A familiar face was already outside waiting for them, that of Mayor Jessie Valencia. The cat must have already received the news as she had discarded her mayoral attire and now wore a pair of combat trousers and a tight green top with no sleeves. In her hands was a large energy rifle that was fixed around her shoulder with a brown strap.

"Report!" she cried as M stopped in front of her.

"Incoming! We have one small Alliance vessel heading our way!" replied M quickly, trying to catch his breath at the same time.

"M, get to the front defence line and set up a blockade!" replied Jessie before turning to a stoat next to her, "You get the summoner, we'll need her help!"

"Yes ma'am!" replied the stoat before darting off towards the south end of the village.

Jessie's next target was Bunnie, who she noticed a few moments after giving the order to the stoat.

"Bunnie! Get yourself to shelter, I wouldn't want our village guest getting killed in a fire fight." she said quickly.

Bunnie didn't reply for a moment, what should she do? All around her people were getting ready to fight for their homes and she was being told to take shelter. Shelter would be safe but…what if they needed help? She had experience in dealing with the alliance and knew how to handle herself in a fight, her decision was a quick one.

"I'm staying! I can help." she said quickly.

"Fine whatever, just don't get killed!" replied Jessie as she rushed past Bunnie and headed for the end of the village M had come from.

Bunnie now noticed that M had already left, not even registering her presence. Bunnie soon turned tail and headed after Jessie, catching and passing her quickly due to her species running capability. M was just ahead and appeared to be slowing slightly allowing Bunnie to catch up and yell to him.

"M! What's going on?!" she cried.

"Huh?! Bunnie?! What are you…never mind, we're under attack! We have an Alliance vessel closing fast on the village." replied M as he continued on.

"I'm gonna help M!"

"Good! We need as much of that as possible, just be sure to pick up a weapon at the defence line!"

Bunnie made a note of what M said and then remembered what Jessie had said a moment ago.

"M! Who's the summoner?" she asked.

"You'll see." replied M grinning as he made ready his rifle.

It didn't take them long to reach the edge of the village where everyone was gathering. The rumbling in the air was even more present now and everyone was looking at the eastern sky and waiting. As Bunnie arrived a male bat noticed her lack of weapon and threw her his, which Bunnie quickly caught and checked. The design was fairly simple and easy to understand, the gun apparently holding a number of projectiles of a fairly large calibre. Bunnie turned her attention back to the sky and waited.

-----------------------------------------

"It seems our presence has been noticed." said Alex matter of factly.

"So it would seem, but that doesn't alter our mission." replied Morgan.

"True, weapons! Make launchers one through six ready and stand by seven through twelve. On my command set up a barrage, three volleys of two launchers each."

"Yes ma'am!" came a confirmation from the weapons console, "Launchers one through six standing by."

-----------------------------------------

Below the defence group stood ready as the ship they were waiting for finally appeared from behind a hill. It was fairly small, the front of it shaped like a triangular block connected to a rear section, which was a square block, by a long thin tube. The rear block housed two engines that ran along the top of the ship, a set of tail fins that stuck upwards and two large wings that pointed downwards slightly. The thin tube connecting the front and back of the ship was covered in large pods of some sort.

Bunnie felt her fur bristle in the cold morning wind, she could tell this could get ugly. Beside her a wolf fidgeted with his rifle for the seventeenth time in five minutes. The whole situation had a nervous feeling about it. As the time passed Bunnie caught whispers going round the gathering about where the summoner was. She didn't even know there was a summoner in the village never mind where he or she was…come to think of it just what was this summoner anyway?

Finally the Alliance ship stopped just outside the village and two of the large pods mounted on its body moved outwards slightly. It was only a moment later that both pods exploded, releasing at least twenty missiles a piece down towards the village. M was the first to react with the obvious command.

"Open fire!" he screamed as his own rifle unloaded its first shot into the incoming pack of destruction.

Around her the other furries aimed up and fired themselves, trying to shoot down the incoming missiles. Bunnie herself aimed upwards also and took aim into the oncoming pack. She fired a single shot, the recoil of the gun being more that she was expecting and landed flat on her back. She scrambled to her feet, looking back at the missiles and aimed once more. She knew she could do this, she'd been doing it all her life, just brace, aim…fire! Her shot went off and flew towards the missiles, this time the recoil not knocking her off her feet. Her shot tore through one missile causing it to explode violently and that had the resulting effect of creating a small shock wave that pushed the missiles around it off course slightly.

In total a good two thirds of the missiles had made it through, most striking the ground all around them. One hit a nearby house turning the entire thing into a giant fireball and sending debris flying everywhere. This debris, however, wasn't the main focus of worry. Against their best efforts a few missiles were now heading right for them and they could not hit them. Bunnie's eyes became huge saucers as her feet froze her to the ground, much like the rest of the group around her. Just then a bright flash of yellow filled the air and a streak of colour shot across the sky ahead of them. A split second later the missiles heading for them exploded in mid air, showering then in a few bits of debris but nothing major. It only took a second for a cry to go up.

"THE SUMMONER IS HERE!"

__

The summoner?! Then…! Bunnie turned quickly to see a familiar figure standing behind her, a large yellow coloured boomerang in her hand.

"Tifa!" cried Bunnie.

"I'll take care of the ship!" cried Tifa swinging her boomerang behind her.

"Protect the summoner!" came a cry.

"Incoming!" screamed M's voice over the other cries.

Bunnie turned just in time to see another double volley of missiles taking off from the ship above them. Bunnie wasted no time, her gun swinging round and aiming at the oncoming bunch. She fired moments later, this time her shot being the first to go off. The shot struck dead on with its intended target, the missile exploding violently in mid air and taking out several alongside it at the same time. MTP was next to fire, his own shot taking out another missile.

"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?!" he cried firing again.

"Back when I was fighting Robotnik." replied Bunnie, "I was part of the Knothole Freedom Fighters."

"Freedom Fighters!" came a cry from around her.

"You keep surprising me Bunnie!" said M keeping his attention fixed on the incoming swarm.

Bunnie gave a small glance behind her, noticing Tifa was now performing a small dance on the spot.

"Air, Fire, Water, Earth! Elements of Astral birth! I call you to attend me now!" she chanted quietly as she swung herself and her boomerang round in a circle.

As she did a small ring of blue light started to form on the road around her.

"In circle, rightly! Safe from psychic curse or blast! I call you now, attend me!"

She quickly raised her boomerang to the sky, a jet of blue colour erupting around her.

"From cave and dessert, sea and hill! By wand, blade, cup and pentacle! I call you now, attend me!"

Her boomerang again spun round her, this time Tifa going into a small flip and bringing her boomerang up behind her.

"This is my will, so mote it be!" she finished.

With all her strength, Tifa brought her boomerang down on the ground in front of her, the blue colour reaching a peak in brightness. The ring around her expanded, lines of blue colour flashing all over the road and weaving into an intricate pattern around her. Moments later a number of blue coloured orbs rose from the ground, each one crackling and flashing intensely. For a moment Bunnie forgot her job of firing and just watched the display going on behind her. The orbs of light slowly began to change in front of her eyes, each one forming into a grey coloured cloud that started to spin fiercely. Tifa raised her eyes to the ship above her and with a shrill cry launched her boomerang towards it. The four spinning clouds also shot off, heading straight towards the oncoming missiles.

Bunnie just stood and watched as a strong wind picked up as the clouds passed overhead, the missiles now no longer able to retain a steady flight path. A number of them collided with each other, causing them to explode, while the rest were whipped into a spinning frenzy, carried along by the wind. The clouds then headed straight towards the ship, the missiles caught in the wind now following them before everything slammed into the ship's mid section at once. The missiles exploded on contact with the hull, ripping into the missile pods that were still loaded and causing them to explode. For a moment the entire mid section of the ship was encased in a giant explosion but the ship was still there, all be it now without any missiles to fire.

Tifa however wasn't done yet, the lines of blue around her quickly changing to red as four more ball of light rose from the ground. This time the balls were red and moments after appearing burst into flames before shooting at the ship's hull like comets. The ship, still recovering from the initial hit, was struck in the rear section by all four of the fire orbs, which tore through the hull plating and passed through the other side without the slightest trouble.

-----------------------------------------

Onboard the occupants of the bridge were nearly knocked off their feet by the double attack.

"Report!" cried Alex clinging to her chair arm.

"Weapon systems are offline!" came a reply from her right, "The main reactor safety systems have been hit! It'll go critical within the hour unless we land and shut down."

"Alex! Get this ship out of here! We can't risk it." cried Morgan picking himself up from the floor.

"Damn those furry bastards! They hurt my baby and I'm not going to let them get away with it!" growled Alex, "Reverse course now! Get us away from the village."

Alex promptly got up and looked at a crewman nearby.

"You! Get my weapon!" she cried.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Alex what are you doing?" asked Morgan.

"Getting revenge."

"Now hold on one second Al…"

Alex, however, didn't let Morgan finish and barged past him, heading off the bridge and down the corridor. She made fast progress down the narrow corridors and quickly lost the pursuit of Morgan who had been following behind her. Alex made her way to the rear of the ship, taking a set of stairs up to the rear deck, where she input a code into the airlock door and stepped outside. The cold air hit her face hard due to their altitude but it didn't stop her. She marched right to the edge of the deck and stopped, waiting for the crew member to bring her weapon to her.

Finally he arrived, carrying the main part of a type four energy bazooka. The weapon was cylindrical in shape and covered in small hazard signs to display its hazard level. A number of arms fanned off the rear of the weapon which the crew member quickly slotted into the plate mounted on Alex's shoulder. As he did the tactical display mounted on the side of the weapon blinked into life. Alex quickly slid her hands onto the weapon grips and played her finger across the trigger. She looked through the display and activated the zoom feature, quickly zooming in until she could clearly see the assembled group on the edge of the village.

"No one hurts my baby like this and gets away with it. I don't care if our orders state this mission can fail….I don't fail!"

Her sights centred in on Tifa, a set of red crosshairs locking in place around the fox.

"You hear me you?"

Her finger slid round the trigger and pressed it.

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The red pattern around Tifa began to fade as she saw the ship turning away from the village. A cheer quickly went up around her from the other furries who quickly started to jump around in glee. Tifa gave a sigh and took hold of both handle of her boomerang, the colour fading from between them before she put them back in her belt pouches. M sank to his knees and collapsed backwards into a pile of snow where he shut his eyes and gave a deep sigh of his own. Bunnie just took a step back and leant her back against a wall as she looked over the group of furries around her.

Presently she noticed some other people approaching the group, those being the forms of Sabrina and Josh. They stopped a little way off and looked around, finally catching MTP's gaze who beckoned them over.

"I just wanted to make sure it was safe." said Sabrina as she approached.

"Wise move Sabby but I think it' safe now." replied M looking back at the fleeing ship for a moment, "I think we've chased them off for now."

"I hope so."

Sabrina and M quickly fell into a small conversation of their own, taking little notice of anyone else around them. Josh meanwhile looked around and then started to head over towards Tifa. As the cat approached he glanced up at the ship for a moment and blinked. Suddenly the cat's eyes went wide in horror and he dived at Tifa.

"Look out!" he screamed as he charged straight into Tifa.

The next few events happened very quickly. Josh's shove caused Tifa to stumble sideways and trip over a small garden wall, falling flat on her face in a pile of snow on the other side of the wall. Josh meanwhile stumbled and fell to the ground, giving a small roll as he did. At the same time a bright point of light erupted from the back of the fleeing ship and turned into a large beam of energy that slammed into the road where Tifa had been standing only moments before. MTP and Sabrina looked up from their conversation, a look of fear on both of their faces.

"NO!" cried Sabrina.

"Why you!" cried M spinning to face the ship.

He was aiming his rifle even before he had turned round, Sarah his computer calculating the trajectory and distance values of the target moments before M shot.

-----------------------------------------

Alex had already pressed the trigger by the time Josh pushed Tifa out of the way but she had little time to curse his actions. M's shot was well aimed but yet a little off target, hitting Alex in the right shoulder, more or less in the middle of the plate she was wearing. The impact caused a sickening crack to be heard as her collar and shoulder bone broke, causing her to fall to the ground with a scream. At the same time the weapon mounted on her shoulder gave a clank and fell to the floor as the plate shattered and fell away from her shoulder.

Almost at the same time Alex hit the deck, Morgan finally found his way onto the deck. He quickly knelt down beside Alex and took hold of one of her hands.

"Alex! Alex are you alright?!" he asked quickly.

"...I…didn't get her…ah…" replied Alex before she passed out.

Morgan turned to the crewman standing nearby and barked.

"Get this ship out of here now and get a doctor up here stat!"

"Yes sir!"

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"Tifa!" said M to himself as he dropped his rifle and spun on the spot, "TIFA!"

"M!" came a horse reply from behind the wall.

M's actions couldn't have gone much quicker if he'd tried. He sprinted towards the voice and vaulted the wall in a single move, landing next to Tifa and reaching out to place a hand on her side. Tifa lay mostly on her front although she had managed to prop herself up slightly so her face wasn't in the snow. She was covered in dust and snow from the explosion the energy blast caused and had a small cut above her left eye from where her face had hit a little bit of ice but was otherwise ok. M quickly took a hold of Tifa and pulled her up slightly, wrapping his arms round her as she wrapped hers around him.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" said M, gulping back a sob, "I thought…"

"I'm ok M, but…."

"JOSH!" came a cry from the other side of the wall.

Sabrina was looking around frantically for the cat, her face going whiter by the minute as she looked around.

"JOSH!" she cried again.

Bunnie was soon by her side and a moment later MTP was also there now he knew that Tifa was all right.

"JOSH!" they cried together.

Bunnie perked her ears trying to catch any sound of the young feline but drew a blank.

"Spread out!" instructed M as he darted to the right.

Sabrina went straight ahead and Bunnie headed to the left. The rabbit found herself standing in the front garden of a house, the energy blast had thrown pieces of stone from the pavement and snow all over the place covering just about everything in a thin layer of debris. Bunnie began to push a little aside as she searched for Josh but at first found nothing. After a moment she saw something long and white that was obviously not part of the debris, it was Josh's tail.

"Hey! I've found him!" she cried as she bent over and pulled a bit of rock off the cat.

After the rock she moved a bit of stone and soon found the cat lying on his back in the snow. There was a cut on his head that ran from the bottom of his muzzle up to just below his right ear and his left leg appeared to be broken. His eyes were barely open and his breathing somewhat laboured but he seemed to register Bunnie's presence.

Presently Sabrina and M arrived, Sabrina immediately kneeling down beside Josh and taking hold of his shoulders.

"Josh!" she said quickly, a panicked tone in her voice.

Josh made a small whimper and tried to focus his vision on Sabrina. He wasn't making a good job of it and kept blinking and squinting at her as he lay there.

"It's ok Josh, you're safe now." said Sabrina.

Josh slowly moved his hands upwards and looked down at them as best he could. His tail was nowhere in the picture and yet Josh's face was completely calm.

"I'm…not afraid…anymore…" he said looking at Sabrina.

Slowly his eyelids closed and his arms fell to his side. Sabrina's face immediately went white and she gave Josh a number of hard shakes.

"Josh! Josh don't you dare die on me! Don't you even dare!" she cried.

Bunnie quickly intervened, taking a hold of Sabrina and pulling her away slightly as M knelt down next to Josh. The fox quickly checked for signs of breathing and a pulse and found both. He gave a sigh and sat back slightly, looking up at Sabrina and giving a smile.

"He's still alive Sabrina, he's just passed out." he said calmly.

Sabrina was so overjoyed to hear this she burst into tears and collapsed into a heap on Bunnie. Bunnie just looked at M with a tired face, which the fox returned in kind.

"Is it over?" she asked slowly.

"I think so." replied M with a nod, "Unless of course they decide they want another round, I'm up for it."

Bunnie just started laughing to which M soon joined in. It seemed things would be quiet again for a while.

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It was later that day that Bunnie, MTP, Tifa, Sabrina and Jessie sat in a circle in Sabrina's house. After the attack everyone had separated to take care of various things and the five had only just been able to get back together. Apart from Josh's injuries and a few other light wounds around the village everyone had made it through unscathed which everyone was thankful for. Josh himself had been looked over by the village doctor and was going to make it. His leg was indeed broken but it was mendable and the rest of his cuts and bruises would heal in time.

Bunnie stretched in her chair, cracking her shoulders as she did. Everyone in the room was exhausted after the fight and sat still resting for a little while before anyone decided to speak. Finally when someone did speak it was Jessie directed at Bunnie.

"So Bunnie…just who are you?" she asked.

"I figured I'd get asked that sooner or later." replied Bunnie, "My full name is Bunnie Rabbot, I was once part of the Knothole and Knotlake Freedom Fighters during the time of Robotnik and now I'm part of the same group operating from Never Lake."

"I know there was something more to your story." said Tifa patting the bandage on her head again, "You always seemed so distant about telling anyone."

"Yeah, well I had a problem I had to overcome first." replied Bunnie.

Sabrina just gave a small smile, she knew what Bunnie was talking about.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked M leaning forwards as he chewed on a biscuit.

"I'm going back to Never Lake, I have friends there who need my help if we are ever to defeat the Alliance once and for all." answered Bunnie with a nod before pausing slightly, "And I'd like to ask you to join us."

"Excuse me?!" said Jessie sitting forwards sharply, "Join you?"

"Yes! We can accomplish so much more as a team and you have skills here that could be useful to the cause."

Bunnie cast a glance as MTP and Tifa who both looked at each other with a smirk.

"The only way we'll get rid of the Alliance is to join forces with as many allies as possible and take the fight to them. Sure we might be able to survive like this in little pockets but what if next time they show up with more ships?" continued Bunnie looking back at Jessie.

"She does have a point." said Sabrina.

"She does indeed." replied Jessie looking away for a moment, "What are you proposing exactly?"

"I'd like MTP and Tifa to accompany me back to Never Lake. Not to stay but hopefully for long enough to work out some sort of link and then they can return here." said Bunnie.

"It's risky, what if the Alliance attacks again?" asked Jessie.

"They won't." replied MTP, "I've been scanning the entire area all week and that ship today is the only thin in the area as far as I can tell and we badly hurt it today. I doubt they'll be back any time soon."

"You might be right." nodded Jessie scratching her chin, "Well as long as they are back soon then I think it is a risk we can afford to take. That is if you two are alright with it."

"Of course." replied Tifa, "I've always wanted to see new places anyway."

"I'll go too." replied MTP.

"Then it's settled, the pair of you will return with Bunnie to her home and help set up a network between us." instructed Jessie.

"Yes ma'am!" replied Tifa with a salute.

M just smiled and shook his head at Tifa's gesture.

"If there is nothing else to say then I think we could all use a little break." put in Sabrina quickly, "We can meet up again in say ten minutes."

Jessie gave a small nod and got up from her seat. The cat excused herself and was quickly followed by Sabrina and M who all left the room. Tifa and Bunnie stayed where they were, Tifa sinking into her chair with a huge sigh.

"Boy and I tired." she sighed.

Bunnie gave a small laugh and looked up at the ceiling.

"Really, well after the show you put on earlier I'm not surprised sugar. What was that?!"

"That? Well did you really think the powers of my boomerang stop at just itself? I didn't know when my mother first gave it to me but long into my families history there was a time when they used the forces of this planet to call forth creatures of the elements. For lack of another term, they were summoners like I am now. My father told me a little about it before we parted and the rest I had to work out on my own but I've gradually developed the skill too. Really anyone can do it, the power is in the weapon itself."

"Wow…that is really quite something Tifa."

"I thought so too, the only downside to it is that its very tiring, I can hardly move after using it if I go too far. Today was about my limit."

"Well it proved to be enough."

"Thankfully yes."

"You'll have to tell me more about it on our trip Tifa, right now I have to visit the little girls room."

Tifa gave a small laugh and waved her hand at the door.

"Of course." she said with a smile.

Bunnie slowly pulled herself from her seat and crossed the room, heading out into the corridor and ran straight into Sabrina. The echidna was leaning against the wall as if she had been waiting for her.

"So, what changed you all of a sudden?" she asked.

"In a word, Josh." replied Bunnie.

"Oh? How so?"

"You remember the so called story you told me yesterday? The point you were trying to get across was somewhat lost on me until I saw Josh lying injured this morning. You said that he never let go of his tail for fear of it being pulled or trod on. Because he kept hold of it he was also keeping hold of all the bad memories he had and as such could never be truly happy and move on but today that changed. After that fall he didn't have hold of his tail and he saw that no one was going to step on it again.

"I was much the same way, I kept a hold of Knuckles, urging myself to find a way that he might come back to me. Because of that I could never let go of the pain his passing had brought about. I set out on my trip to find a way to rid myself of that pain and thanks to you and Josh I found it. I can't thank you enough."

"Not at all my dear, you did that yourself, I just nudged you along on the right path."

"Say what you will Sabrina, I will pay you back for this somehow."

"YO SABRINA! Where'd you keep the coffee?" cried M's voice from the kitchen.

Sabrina gave a small laugh and flung her arms up.

"It never stops, come on I'll make you one too." she said as she turned and headed for the kitchen.

Bunnie followed close behind, not saying a word but smiling broadly. Life was much better now.


End file.
